More...Unusual Pets
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 10:06AM Those who follow this blog know I've been doing an occasional More Puppy or More Kitty feature. Highlighting first my own dog (and my dearl departed late dog), then the dogs and cats of my reader-friends. I even did a More Bunny blog post as a foray into slightly more unusual pets.
In the past, I've had some rather unusual pets myself. I stumbled across their photos while looking for something different, and decided to do an "Unusual Pets" post.
Okay. First. I realize a horse is not a bizarrely unusual pet, but it's one we haven't covered yet. So this is Cody. Cody was (and may still be) a POA pony (Pony of the Americas), an Appaloosa pony with wonderful splotches of white across his butt. I used to tell people he was standing under the ladder when they whitewashed the barn. I bought him to satisfy my childhood dream of a horse of my own. I had him for about six years, until I got very serious as a writer and very busy. Then he needed far more attention than I could give him. So I found him a new home at a riding facility for the disabled. If he's still alive, he'd be 24, so he may be retired somewhere, or he may be out to pasture in that ultimate pasture in the sky.
Now I get a bit more unusual with a boa constrictor named Basil Ratbones. For those of you who read my story collection Earthquake Weather, Basil showed up (fictionally) in the story The Snake Handler. I had him for several years, and he was quite fascinating and beautiful to watch. Then my mom brought home a four-pound puppy and it was time for Basil to move on to a new home.
Perhaps most unusual of all, here's a snapshot of a "pet" peacock I called Big Bird. Back when I first moved to Cambria, my mother was the caretaker at the Old Santa Rosa Chapel. (I came to Cambria to spend a summer with her and never went "home." Talk about an endless summer.) Big Bird appeared very much out of nowhere. We fed him for a season (that's a pie plate full of grain sitting on the railing) and I picked up some great feathers. I had an old '66 Mustang, and I swear the bird was in love with that car. He'd walk around and around it in a sort of courting dance. Later I realized he was looking at a reflection of himself in the chrome bumpers. Whether he thought he was quite gorgeous or whether he thought his reflection was another bird, I'll never know.
Alas, breeding season drew him away. Later we found out that a local farmer had brought him to the property and let him go as a way of being rid of him. Well, having a pet peacock was fun while it lasted.
Do you have, or have you had, an unusual pet? If so, let me know. There's always room on this blog for readers and their stories and photos.
Reader Comments (7)
I have no pictures (darn)..........but have had 2 mice; 1 hawk; 1 tarantula; 5 cats and 5 dogs.
The tarantula was perhaps the most unusual and the most surprising in its behavior........upon returning home each evening after a long day at work, the tarantula would actually walk over to the side of his glass container closest to the door and put on "leg" up on the glass, as if to say "hi, I missed you and when is dinner?".
The other oddity for me as I did not know that tarantula's did this was, again after a long day at work, walking in and seeing 2 tarantula's in its glass home. Both looking exactly alike and completely "intact". I was 22 and went a bit over the top, calling everyone I know, including an agency I thought might know something about tarantula's and if they "clone" themselves (remember I am 22 and it is before the internet). Well, as you may already know or have concluded..............tarantula's shed their skin by simply "stepping out" of the skin and underneath is an exact copy of the one discarded. So wish I had a photo of that, particularly one of my face.
Ah, I wish you'd been a photo buff. That would have been interesting to see.
I once house-sat for some people who had a tarantula (in addition to cats and dogs). They told me he needed touch and lots of handling, then gave me the opt-out that they could take him to the pet store to "board." I took the opt-out. I had no desire to cuddle with any type of arachnid, thank you very much.
They are amazingly soft on the back of the body...................and very gentle. Maybe you will meet one on your trip and get to "try it out".
Um...maybe I'll just take your word for it.
My son Oskar had a pet giant african snail called Linda. He did a few you tube videos of her. I'll see if he has a photo I can post on here. The novalty wore off after while and we donated her to a caring home.
Now that I would like to see. Look forward, and if you have any trouble posting, just send it to me and I'll post it as an update. That makes my unusual pets look common!
Catherine - Just asked Oskar - he can't find any pictures of Linda - said he's deleted the you tube vidoes. SORRY! If I stumble across any I'll definately send them on.