Andersons' Animals
Click on a thumbnail picture to view it full size. Use "back" on your browser to return to this page.
Our
first dog was an adoptee from the (real) Animal Rescue League, a mixed terrier/fiest
breed with a personality that could be described only by his name —
“Rascal”. He lived with us 16 years and was devoted to Mary.
Since his death from cancer, we have experienced the sound of his feet on
the wooden floor many times, so he may still be with us in some form.
Later we acquired Charlie, another mixed terrier, when we found him abandoned on the steps of our boys’ school one morning. He’s still with us.
About
the time Rascal died we acquired Sugar, the horse.
We bought her for
our son Bryant to ride but found out she has the “heaves”, a chronic
emphysema-like condition, so she can’t be caused to do hard exercise. She
had a filly soon after we got her, a pretty little spotted Appaloosa we named Li’l
Bit (a little bit of sugar). We
lost her three years later to a head injury when she fell over while rearing to
avoid being saddled.
Next
came Buddy. He literally followed our son home from a walk and wouldn’t
leave. 
Buddy is devoted to Mary as
well.
Buddy
brought us Bear and Bebe. He led
them to us from where neighbors had left them behind when they moved.
He barked until Mary went outside and fed the newcomers. That’s Bebe at left; Bear wouldn’t sit still for
pictures.
Next
came Socks and her whole new litter (7 strong) also abandoned by the neighbors.
Socks proved to be the mother of Bear and Bebe (a previous litter) and
brought the new pups to us herself, first 3 one day, then 2 the next day, and
finally 2 more on a third day. All
these dogs had been poorly cared for and Socks especially was both emaciated and
severely infected with mange. We
found it heart-rending to see how
Socks was begging us to take care of her pups
since her health wouldn’t allow them to receive adequate nourishment from
nursing. We took them all but gave
away all but one of the pups. The
pup we kept was named Bashful (below) because she was so skittish and was the
runt of the litter (and Mary felt sorry for her).
Finally, we’ve gotten Ghost and Butterball, rescued from our dogs after they were thrown out in a box at the end of our street. There were more than the two but we couldn’t get to the others quickly enough to save them.
Sadly,
we've lost Butterball to an early death. He suffered from a chronic liver
malfunction and periodic seizures which caused him to lose motor control.
Sometime during the night of November 23, 2000, he suffered another seizure,
perhaps a stroke, which unfortunately killed him. He never cried out as he
had done in past episodes so no one heard his plight so that help could be
rendered. He was a very loving cat, unlike many who remain aloof from
their human owners.
We
found Lady, a mixed hound breed, begging food at
a nearby service station in December 2000. The manager was about to haul her off into Byram
in hopes someone would rescue her. I feared all he would accomplish would
be to get her run over so we caught her and had her checked out by the vet
before bringing her home. She house-trained rather easily but still
doesn't handle well on a leash. We can't put her outside with the other
dogs because the other females won't accept her. In May 2001 we gave up
trying to keep her as a house dog and built her a separate yard.
Meet
Gizmo. He came to us by way of the Starkville Animal
Control (pound) and was adopted for us by our son, Bryant. He arrived on
Thanksgiving Day, 2002. He reminds us a lot of Butterball as he is a very
loving cat. We thought that getting another cat would give Ghost some
companionship; however, the difference in age (Gizmo is still a kitten really)
and temperament between the two cats makes Gizmo more of a pest to Ghost rather
than a playmate or foster brother.
We had to have Socks
put to sleep in January, 2003. It was the hardest decision we ever had to
make but we really had no choice. She started having trouble moving about
in November, 2002, and we initially treated her for joint inflammation.
She didn't really show signs of serious arthritis or injury on x-ray but all her
symptoms seemed to indicate spinal and/or hip joint problems. When the
real cause, a sarcoma that probably started in her spleen was discovered, tumors
were appearing in several places in her circulatory system in the skin and there
was no treatment that could cure her. When she stopped taking food because
she couldn't hold it down, we reluctantly euthanized her. This photo was
taken when she was still hale and hearty.