In 1993, my childhood best friend was attending college at Stevens Point. It was there that he picked up a new puppy which he named Benny. When Scott came home after he was done there, he left this beagle/black-and-tan coonhound dog with his parents. When I first met the pooch, I didn't like him. He was yappy, jumpy, fur-flying mess. He was chained up outside at the summer picnic to a tree, and only occasional contact was bearable. He seemed like an outside farm dog.

 

Another time I came to visit, Scott was on break from

his work and home again at his parents. They kept the

practice of 'crating' Benny, which made him look

very pitiful staring up from his plastic cage. I told Scott

that I thought my landlord could be convinced

to let me keep him for the rest of the nine

months that my friend would be gone. I had a dog

 in college (Marcus) and knew the responsibilities.

I took ownership of Benny in my small, one-bedroom

apartment in Riverwest. Scott would eventually

take another cruise ship job right

away, and nine months would become ten+ years.

Life with Benny was (and remains) interesting. I worked a lot in the early days, and although he made a good watchdog he also was a yappy neighbor and a destroyer of worlds. No amount of dog toys could satiate his chewing habit, and any food left near an edge was gone. I decided after one month to get him a friend.

 

The clear reason for getting a cat is unclear. At the time, I might have still been under the impression that Scott was returning for Benny and so I needed a pet of my own. In any case, I ventured up to the humane society and located Jet.

Actually, her randomly chosen given surname at the pound was 'Big Red'. She was a lady true and true, and was too young to realize that Benny was supposed to be a mortal enemy. Soon they became pals, and to this day remain like sister and brother in my household.

Nothing can give me a heart-strain more than when Jet has escaped from the house. Usually she is too timid to venture any further than the back alleys, but one day I came home to find that a roommate in my flat let her out on accident (this happens a lot since before this year we didn't have storm windows and not enough window screen inserts were available). I parked the car and observed a cat being stroked on the noggin while she sat on some stair of the big house across the street. I thought, "hmm. the cat looks like Jet. Wait. Jet!"

 

The call of her name, in its short staccato form, usually causes her to jump or at least twitch her tail. In this case, she started for the street back for the house. She nearly got run over. In her lady-like voice, she seems so helpless to the world. She is a lover and not a fighter. She catches bugs for me, and hogs the radiator top in my bedroom most days now. She has been the subject of one of my best-selling art photos (see right),

and is dear to my heart.

 

I have had my pets for a decade now, and realize that I only have a few years left at most. It is sad, and I don't deal with change well. However, they don't seem that old. Sure, Benny has gotten plenty of white in his face and sleeps a lot. He has had dental surgery in the past year, and his hind quarters are getting weak. Jet's voice is a bit more hoarse, and she is needy for attention now. But life seems fine.

 

This mutt and feline have been repsonsible for my email namesake and original website name. If I could, I would keep replacing them with clones for my entire lifetime. The future just better hurry up with the technology.

 

Oh yes. The fish. I bought a tank about seven years ago, and have had various fish who have lived their typical lifespan and croaked. One fish was a bully and harasses several fish until he got an eye infection. Then the others turned on him. He lost the eye and survived the disease, only to half-watch the others die on their own. He remained, and grew bigger. Years passed, and I started to ask fish dealers how long they can live. No one could give me a clear answer. It has been four years now - and counting. When ever guests come to the house for a party, I ask them if they wouldn't like to step into the bathroom and see my big one-eyed pink kisser. They are disappointed when they see the aquarium and realize that it's just a fish.