My First Pet – A Memoir

Bigger than life is the memory of my first pet, Amber. She was a mixed breed of dog with a brown-black-orange coat of fur. She was the sweetest pet anyone could want. I also remember her arch enemy, a black and white Cocker named Soupy. I dreaded the sight of Soupy swaggering up the road toward our little house, as Amber chewed at the window sill from inside, trying to get outside, so she could attack Soupy. Once they got together, the bloody brawl began!

Parting the two dogs was their only hope of survival. Their fights would have been to death, if one fearless adult man or another had not risked harm to himself to intervene each time, usually having to inflict a painful blow to one dog or both before they would stop trying to kill each other.

The ongoing mutual hatred between these two canines seemed to thrive with a life of its own. I’ll never understand what could have caused this irregularity in canine behavior. Amber was a loving pet and wouldn’t hurt anyone. REALLY! All the neighborhood kids loved and played with Soupy, too. But none of us dared to get in the way when the two dogs caught sight of one another. Eventually, we moved out of that neighborhood. Amber formed only friendly associations with other dogs in her new territory, so this true story had a happy ending.

Are there any dog stories among us? I’d love to hear about your pets. Not only dogs. Cats, birds, or whatever.