altruistic1

When I was a little girl in Pennsylvania, I grew up with a lot of animals, and being an only child they were my friends.  I used to go to the barn when they were milking the cows, what a mistake, I ended up having to hold the tails so the person milking the cow would not get swatted in the face with the tail (sometimes covered in pee or crap or both).   Other times I would get to feed the calves from a bucket with a nipple, that was my favorite thing to do.  Playing in the hay was always something to do, when I was older I learned how to jump from the rafters of the barn down into the hay.  There were also barn cats that would sit there while the cows were being milked waiting for some of the milk to come their way.  The barn cats were a little wild and you had to move slow and earn their trust to get close enough to actually touch them.  My grandfather also had a cattle dog and a coon-hound.  The cattle dog was with him constantly and the coon-hound stayed in the house with my grandmother, he was lazy.  My grandmother had several cats, one was a short haired calico that I used to dress up in doll clothes and push in a buggy. 

My aunt had multiple sclerosis and her daughter lived with her in the second dwelling on the property.  My aunt and cousin bought ducks and chickens and rabbits for me and taught me how to take care of them.  I named all of the ducks “Henry” and could say the name and they would all come.  My cousin decided to buy a St. Bernard puppy, who was my buddy, when he was outside he was kept in an area that was fenced off  and held my assortment of animals, ducks,chickens and rabbits, they all had special houses that were built for them by my uncle.  The well was also in the fenced off area and electric wires hung above on poles.  One day as I was out feeding and taking care of the menagerie and the St. Bernard puppy (6 mos. old) was walking next to me and he bit the electric line that had been blown or knocked down somehow, where he grabbed it, it was bare and he was being electrocuted  right next to me, I screamed and screamed until someone heard and shut the power off.  He did not die but did take a while to recover and never was quite the same. 

At my house my mom had a beagle, and my step-dad had a couple of beagles that lived in the back yard.  When I was about five years old, I wanted a hamster so my real dad bought one for me along with all of the accessories.  I kept him in my bedroom and took him everywhere with me, I had a jacket that had a zippered pocket and that is where he would ride when it was snowing and cold.  I would even take him to school.  I taught him tricks and he would sit on the kitchen table and eat breakfast with me, he had his own coco and toast.   He was good for many laughs, drove my step-dad nuts, he would get out of his cage and I was afraid that he would somehow get out of the house never to be found, and one time he was found in a case of beer that my mom kept in a cupboard in the kitchen.  That hamster was amazing and was broken hearted when he passed away. 

I loved all of those animals and am glad that they were part of my life because I sure learned many lessons because of them.

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