Just What I Wanted

Everything you want seems to come in the oddest packages...

I love animals. Ever since I could remember, I wanted a horse. When I was around seven or eight, we moved from the suburbs to the country where we obtained almost 5 acres, so I desperately wanted to have a boarding kennel. A few months after moving into the country house we got a new neighbor. Little did I know how much things would change. For starters, with our new neighbor came a daughter, someone I could play with. With the daughter came birthdays and presents. She was lucky. Her dad got her almost whatever she wanted, like the puppy. That's where the story begins.

On July 7, 2002, Wendy, the neighbor's daughter, got what she's always wanted, a puppy. It's a yellow lab, now named Rapunzel, and appears to be the best birthday present she has ever received. Regretably, she is not always around due to her divorced parents and living conditions. This is where I come in. I am asked to take care of Rapunzel whenever Wendy, or her dad, David, are not around. I was thrilled, and being the animal lover I am, I accept.

Some months later, Rapunzel disappears, and after a few weeks, she returns. She looks fine, happy, healthy and normal. But nothing is as it seems. After a while, she started getting fat. Once she had become almost the size of a small calf, we determined she was pregnant. Not long after, she had the puppies under the shed; there were eight. Now me, being the primary caregiver of the mother dog, and almost every other animal in Iredell County, was to take care of these puppies. Not only did I have these puppies and the momma dog to care for, but I also had my two dogs and the neighbor's girlfriend's dog, plus a cat and a hamster. So let's do some simple math: one nine year old versus fourteen animals equals, you guessed it, mayhem. Funny thing though, despite the chaos of living with this many animals, I couldn't have been happier.

 

Unfortunately, this part of the story does not have the "happily ever after" ending, as with most of reality. Out of a litter of eight, one is adopted, three die, and five go away, never to be seen again, including Rapunzel. Life goes on.

A few years later, Wendy gets another birthday present. She has just turned nine, I am eleven. It's a horse. Wendy names this horse Baby. Baby is four months old. She is a chestnut Tennessee Walking Horse who hates me. On the first day she kicks me, leaving a wonderful bruise that stays for months. I was only feeding her. Nonetheless, I spend the next few weeks outside the corral. I spent more time there than Wendy did. So much that Baby preferred me to Wendy. After a month and a half, Baby is gone. Apparently she has been sent to Wendy's mom's house. That doesn't last long. Baby returns a month or two later, now under the name of Buttercup, because she got loose; why the name change? I have no clue. She might have outgrown her old one for all I care. She is here to stay, for now.

 

After two years, Buttercup and I had become great friends. I was the only company she got, and she was one of two to three animals keeping me from being alone. In the meantime, my old pack has dissipated. The girlfriend's dog, Sahara, has died at the grand age of fourteen. Bowser, a small beagle I was taking care of, turned out to be a lost hunting dog. His owner found out we had him and claimed him. My dog, Maxxie, a companion of ten years, has been hit by a car. She was put to sleep that night, September 26, 2005, at 2:02 AM. We were together to the end. She was my best friend; however, life goes on. Now to the present.

In mid July, Buttercup was sent off for training. Today, December 2, 2007, she has returned. David has also gotten a small Palomino pony. He [the pony] isn't particularly fond of me, and runs from everything, even food. I have aquired a new pack. In it is my new dog, Pennie, a two year old Husky/Beagle mix. Next is Kipper, a small dog who resembles a Rat Terrier. Lastly, there is Einstein, the not-so-bright casanova. He, like Rapunzel, is a yellow lab. He loves me to death.

Animals are my passion. They beat anything I've met so far. To me, they're better than poetry, I love them far more than books, and they've taught me more about being a good friend and person than any teacher, book or poem ever has. Let your spirit run loose, wild and free, and you shall be happy. Watch for predators: stay on your toes. The true point of life is to live. Lastly, loyalty, faith, trust, respect and honor are the best ways to move up.

It wasn't until today, when the horses returned, that I realized how blind I have been. I was sitting on the gate where the pony is being kept, thinking, when I remembered that prayer from so long ago. I remembered how much I had prayed for a boarding kennel; to have horses and dogs, and after reflecting on all the animals that had stayed on my property, all the animals I had cared for in the short time I've been on earth, I realized I had and have been given everything I've prayed for.

 

I am thankful.

Author's Note

I love all animals dearly...

I also must say that I have been further blessed with five puppies, as a result of Einstein and Pennie. They're the oddest mixes you'll ever see, but they're as sweet as you'll get. 3/16/08

David has also acquired another horse, Mercedes, who is a Pinto Tennessee Walker.

Reviews

[The Thracian]

This was interesting to read, especially after you disclosed the fact that you aren't a fan of prose. This must have taken a good few hours to write too, if your attention span is really that of ten seconds. I guess the interest is an undercurrent in your style, that developed with much solitary rumination.

You are proud too, aren't you? I'd be misguided to suggest that there is a kind of companionship that humans can offer you beyond that which animals can offer you, wouldn't I?

Solitude is a misconception, a fear permeated by the liberty of our insanity. Why are human beings so evolved, if evolution is even really what we are? Speaking of evolution, notwithstanding the missing link, humans are animals aren't they? So then where does the nuance truly lie?

I am annoying with my questions, and far from making any tangible manifestations. Doesn't that just bother? Har, Har.. Yet another question. I don't have a passion for animals, at least not comparable to your own, because I've never be allowed such a thing. Though, like an positron to a electron, I am familiar with dead animals and their standings (hehehe..) because my father is a taxidermist. He has ethics though, and doesn't do family pets or unintentional personal deaths on the part of the animals. I could probably pick apart a bird faster than a newbie taxidermist, without rendering his feathery skin. Do I have a peculiar liking for the grotesque act of ending an animal's life? Not really. I've gone through a period of not eating meat, though unrelated to animals.

Why am I talking? Why not. You've the right to share your passion, and I the right to share my views on the subject. Do you care? I'm not a horse now am I, not a pack-horse either. I doubt it.

I wrote a piece about my father, taxidermy, would you like to read it?

[Wildfleour]

What a lovely piece. Have you ever read "The Blessing".


A Blessing, by James Wright

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more, they begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.

[Celtic Cat]

How wonderful!!! Such a welcomed change to the kids near me... who don't get out into nature and play with virtual pets. I long for the world to be more like yours, and envy you your beloved friends. Thanks for sharing this story with us, I'm happier having read it.

[T. L. O'Neal]

Animals are great friends and to me they are family. A very good piece and I'm glad you recieved what you always had prayed for. T

[Angelheaded Hipster]

I wish I could be fond of animals like you...me....I don't really care for them...but I dont wish them harm, or anything bad to happen to them.

You have a vey big heart...

[Amor-de-angel]

It is plain to see your love for your animals. They always return our love.
Thanks for sharing this.