Cooper...

 

Growing up, we always had cats, dogs, 

fish, birds, hamsters, turtles 

and/or bunnies at our house...  

God forbid we should beg my mother 

to swing by the local shelter to "look" at the animals there

because we just might come home with one... 

She was a soft touch, 

much to my father's chagrin,

 and Mom would fall in love with those sweet, imploring eyes

 behind the cages as much as we did...  

Back then, we had a big yard and

 a big enough house to keep such a menagerie...  

Dad built a hutch, out of an old chicken coop 

that came with the property, for my bunnies...  

The parakeet's cage perched in the dining room

 and my brother's rodents and turtle 

were sequestered in his bedroom...  

In the Seventies, small town dogs were a little freer, 

well, at least our schnoodle, Charlie, was his own dog...  

I don't think he walked on a leash once...  

We let him out the back door 

and he roamed the block until he had had enough 

of sniffing around, doing his business 

and checking out a trash can or two...
  

I am pretty sure the neighbors were not too keen 

on his free range privileges,

 but back then, people didn't make a big fuss 

like they would now... 

Charlie was a low key dog...  

If he were human, he'd be a stoner for sure...  

He would rest his furry head on the window sill 

and if he spied a squirrel,

 Chuck might let out a "Woomphf!"

 and that was about it...  

Piewacket was our first cat I really remember...
  

Named after Kim Novac's cat in the 1960's movie, "Bell Book and Candle",

 Piewacket was a massive, glossy, jet black,

 short haired feline of evilness... 

 Cats weren't declawed in those days 

and he would take out your epidermis 

with one well timed swipe...  

If Pie trained his glowing, yellow eyes on you,

tail a twitchin',

you had better run...  

He was that cranky.. 

Come to think of it, 

Pie's mercurial demeanor was trumped only 

by my grandmother's six-toed, sleek ebony cat, 

aptly named "Lucifer"...

Lucy once won the "Amateur" division

 of the Rock Island County Cat Show...

He was a glossy, beautiful specimen of cat...

But trust me, he was no "Mr. Congeniality"... 

Playing with Lucifer was like letting yourself 

into the panther exhibit at the zoo...

 As a little kid, though, Piewacket was warm and soft 

and he could be so cuddly...  

It was a love/hate relationship with Pie..  

I watched Kate lovingly pet the neighborhood cat, Cooper, 

yesterday and it all came full circle... 

Cooper let himself into a neighbor's house yesterday 

as my friend was welcoming guests

 into her home for brunch...  

Cooper probably smelled bacon 

and thought he was invited...  

Anyway, she shooed him out 

and Kate took notice of this long haired, glorious black cat...  

After calling the number on his tag, 

we learned that Cooper is allowed to roam the streets 

and he wears a GPS collar...  

All well and good, but I worry about him becoming road kill 

in a big city like Chicago... 

 Kate stroked his bountiful fur 

and he rolled over for a belly scratch...  

Clearly Cooper is used to plenty of TLC 

as he was quite lovable...  

Oh, how I wish I could add a pet to the family...

Jack is highly allergic to dogs and cats, 

so it is not an option for us...  

I would love to have small birds like finches or parakeets, 

but when I mentioned it, Tom looked at me 

like I wanted to adopt a Burmese python...  

I say no to rodents of any shape or form...  

There were so many nights when my brother's hamster 

ran endlessly on a rusty, squeaky wheel...

 I mentally devised ways to kill it...  

Then there was the time "Hammie" scuttled 

into the heating ducts of the house...

There is no faster way to enrage your father

 than the sounds of a rodent scurrying 

inside the metal ductwork at two am...

Dad may as well have been able to lift an Oldsmobile 

with the force he used to tear the duct 

from the basement ceiling...

It was not good for Hammie...

Reptiles are a definite NON STARTER for me.....

Shudder!!! 

So, we have three tiny fish in a minute aquarium...

BORING!  

There are family members, who have expressed a million, 

perfectly logical reasons why not having pets is the best plan,

 but I still cling to the belief that a child benefits so greatly 

from a good, loyal furry pet... 

 I wish I could give my kids that joy, 

but it may not be in the cards for us...  

Kate will have to enjoy the occasional Cooper sighting 

to get her kitty fix...