Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Petlife.
Tido Jermaine Says it All
Where can start? My family and I moved into a house and prior to this, we were in an apartment. My son who is an animal fanatic requested to get a dog, preferably an American bully when we were in our apartment. I told him once we got into a house with a backyard I would consider looking into it, not expecting him to hold me to it. Two weeks after we moved into our home my son reminded me of our earlier talks of getting a pet. I quickly shut down the option of getting an American bully because the landlord didn’t allow that breed instead, I told him I would take him to the shelter and allow him to pick out an expectable breed and we would adopt. Going to a shelter and the adoption process was all new to us so, it was a bit of an adrenaline rush. We arrived at the shelter and it looked like a little college campus for pets, all nice and clean and everyone was super friendly. I informed my son that we would be looking for small breeds and preferably one that was already housebroken. Zion’s smile was bright as the sun while he walked through and looked at all the pets needing a home but it began to dim because every pet he wanted to choose had already been spoken for. As we get ready to turn the corner we hear a continuous barking and rattling of the cage. Zion looks towards the noise and stated he liked him because he was full of energy and he thought he was a nice-looking dog. That started our journey to get our now, Tido Jermaine. He was a five-month-old puppy who had just recently been found so he had to be listed for like seven days to see if anyone would claim him and if no one claimed him we could come back to get him. The wait was finally over, I don’t think my son slept at all; every day he was like, “ I hope no one claims him!” When we picked him up he said I’m naming him Tido and I gave him Jermaine. We bought so many doggy items including a cage. We put Tido in the cage and he cried and barked without ceasing. We decided to take him out and he wagged his tail and laid around and when it was time for a restroom break he would bark at the back door, he was trained from the start. There was one thing we had a problem with for about six months after getting him, the minute anyone would open any door he would sprint out like a bolt of lightning, therefore, dubbing him his nickname Escape Artist Tido. When I tell you Tido was everybody’s exercise instructor for free, I mean just that. I believe Tido could talk to the toddler in the house because he would be in ready said go position by the front door and I would hear the toddler trying to say his name and outside in the same statement. I would be tripping over myself to try and get to the front door and by the time I would get to the corner to see the door all I would see is the tan color of Tido’s coat and King Josiah, the toddler, looking back and smiling at me. Here I am in go mode, waking up my husband to watch the toddler and running out the door, half-dressed, hair all over my head and yelling Tido come back! Tido where are you! (This happened during my son’s school hours) Tido would be nowhere in sight, I would walk the complete block just to make it back home and find him sitting on the neighbor's porch.
By Khalilah White5 years ago in Petlife
FRECKLES & JULIAN
My block is known to be a place where stray cats feel safe, can get a meal or a warm place to sleep if necessary. Some of us suspect the reason behind all the strays are that they are runaways from neighboring streets. To some of us who already have cats, it’s pretty easy to develop a relationship with those that come to visit. Some of us even name and adopt them. Despite all the love shown and given the cats still choose the freedom feeling of being on the outside. Who can blame them? It is apart of our nature to be on the outside appreciating the fresh air and about all the action. People who like to go places may travel with a crew. Cats, travel with their pact. It is a sight to see their tails wagging, paws stepping, and eyes fixated on their adventures. And then the expected, risky but beautiful thing happens. A female stray turns up pregnant. I have my own rescue story of a female cat and her litter.
By Beautiful Intelligence5 years ago in Petlife
An Important Reminder from My Dog to Me… and to You
It was another typical night bringing my dog out to relieve herself just before we all sat down to relax and watch T.V. I was not in the best of moods as my obsessive mind cycled through past, present, and future anxieties of life. It was also cold, and I just wanted her to do her business as quickly as possible. Thank god for the leash attached to my hand because without it, I would have forgotten all about my beautiful little potato sniffing the grass for the best area to mark her territory. That’s how lost in my head I was.
By Michael Paniccia 5 years ago in Petlife
Cookie. Top Story - April 2021.
I remember it was a midsummer day in New Hampshire, The sky was clear and we were on our way to the beach. It was one of the few trips we had gone on as a "family" including myself, my brother Tommy, Mom and her boyfriend Eddie. The first stop of the day was to an open house for prebuilt modular homes. Mom thought it would be fun to look around for a cheap new house despite the fact we wouldn't ever be able to afford one. I understood why she wanted to keep her hopes up though, our house was a beaten down, single wide trailer with plastic sheeted windows and multiple holes in the roof. Locals and family friends had named it "The Hippie Shack".
By Mollie Harrison5 years ago in Petlife
The Catman of Austin:
My husband, Ronald, an army brat, never had a pet. But in 1984, I convinced him to let me adopt a stray kitten. He agreed, under one condition: he got to name her. For the next ten plus years, the cats we adopted were named after his former girlfriends. That first kitten, Tomeka, crawled up on his pillow that first night with us and peed on his head. Don't ask. Tomeka was allowed to have a companion. Denise, and so the naming went until that Christmas Eve’s eve in 1996 when I rescued a sickly orange kitten, the last in the box of Free Kittens. My husband's initial reaction was, "No." Still, I took the little guy to our vet.
By Mindy Reed5 years ago in Petlife
My dog identified as a cat.
I am not a dog person, heck I'm not even an animal person, but I come from an animal family. Two technically. My dad has had three dogs over the course of my life, my mom has had two dogs and three cats. When I finally moved out to live on my own, I got a fish. Fish are so much easier. I had a fair fish growing up that I kept alive for three years completely on my own! So now, my husband and I have a semi large fish tank and keep a few fish. That's as close to having an animal in our house as we will get for a long time. I'm comfortable with my fish. But when I was younger, we adopted an incredibly unique dog named Happy.
By Rachel Hill5 years ago in Petlife
Hurricane "Cat"trina
The year was 2005 and for those of us who lived through it we could tell you stories that rivaled the terror of 2020. Especially if you lived in South Mississippi and Louisiana in August. Katrina was a category five storm that rocked the whole nation as people watched on television the devastating flooding in New Orleans and the twenty foot storm surge pick up huge hotels and casinos and carry them out to sea on the Mississippi coast. But, particularly for those of us who experienced, it we all have our own Katrina story if not several. One of mine is the story of Ginger, the cat pictured in the photograph. In the days after the storm my wife and I slowly made our way back out into the community picking up the pieces and helping others clean up and rebuild after the disaster. We live about sixty miles from the coast so the storm had weakened to a category three hurricane by the time it reached our home and we were fortunate that we received only minimal damage. The same could not be said for the Dental Office where we both worked. The old office had been converted from a two story home and my wife and I had actually met there for the first time only two years before.
By Gray Beard Nerd5 years ago in Petlife
Luci-fur: The Black Demon
October 6th, 2020 is not a date I will forget any time soon. October 6th, 2020 was the day we rescued the most beautiful little panther in the world from her unfortunate lot. October 6th, 2020 was the day our little household became complete.
By Diana R. Jones5 years ago in Petlife
