16 Pets and Counting

If you are an animal lover you probably consider your pets’ family. Throughout my life my family has had a total of sixteen pets, at one point my house had four family members and nine pets. We had three dogs, a cat, two rabbits, two fish, and one turtle. Growing up, Kayle and I were always playing with our dogs and rabbits, we tried to play with our cat, but he was mean and would always bite us. I loved growing up and being surrounded by all of the pets we had, but I hated when they passed away or if we had to put them down.

Our dogs were my German Shepherd, Bo, a Chocolate Lab, Hershey, and a Basset Hound, Buster. While Hershey and Bo were always wrestling, Buster would bark, he thought he was the referee. Having three dogs was a lot of work, they went through so much dog food and that resulted in there being mounds of cow pies in the yard. Thankfully it was my sister’s job to take care of that.

I had a rabbit named Midnight, she was a dwarf bunny. Kayle had a white rabbit named Snowball. I would be extra careful with my bunny, I considered her a baby. Kayle on the other hand, would run with Snowball up and down the driveway in a stroller. Snowball also loved to eat beef jerky and Oreos. I only fed my rabbit apples and carrots because I did not want her to die from having high cholesterol or anything. One morning Midnight and Snowball got out of their cage, they must have thought they traveled far and that they had to fend for themselves because out our dining room window we could see them the dirt hill next to our swing set. Snowball was digging a hole and Midnight was behind her smoothing out the dirt Snowball was throwing.

Throughout my life we have had three turtles, each one was named Swimmer. Swimmer One died because my grandma forgot to give him water while she was watching him, the Swimmer Two just died, and Swimmer Three was lost. Kayle decided to take our turtle for a walk. She picked him up and put him in her pocket. That poor turtle. Kayle went out and walked around the whole yard, field, and pool area. When Kayle came back I asked her where Swimmer was and she told me in her pocket, she looked there and began to scream and cry. When she took him for a walk, he fell out of her pocket, although we were very sad, the turtle was probably happy because he did not have to deal with two crazy girls anymore.

Today, my household consists of two dogs and a kitten. Kylee’s rabbit recently died, sadly, they do not have a long life expectancy. We still have Hershey, we rescued about seven years ago. We are unaware of how old he is, but we’re guessing he is around eight or nine now. Our other dog, Duke is a Black Lab. He just turned three a couple months ago. Both of our dogs are spoiled rotten, they sleep in bed with us, go on car rides all the time, and even have a five hundred dollar blanket to lay on. Our cat, Tootsie we rescued over the summer. She showed up on our porch and my mom let us keep her. Even though we do not have as many animals as we used to, they still fill my heart with love.

Bo Hunter Night

When I was little, I got a puppy as a Christmas present, a German Shepherd. I was kind of disappointed because I told my parents a wanted a girl and they picked out a boy, but in the end I could not have asked for a better best friend. I named my puppy Bo. My dad gave me a list of names I could choose from and I decided on Bo Hunter Night.

Bo was my protector, my best friend, and my sleeping buddy for eight years.  Bo would walk around the yard and woods with me, sometimes he would run off in the woods and I would yell for him to come back, he loved to explore. If I was having a rough day I would find Bo and go over and lay next to him. If I felt like crying I would lay my head on his back and cry into his fur, he would always turn around and lick my face. Bo could always cheer me up. I would let Bo come up to my room at night and let him sleep in my bed, sometimes he would take up too much room and I would tell him to lay on the floor. When Bo slept in my room, I felt like nothing could happen to me, I knew he would protect if monsters came out of the closet or if a burglar came through the window.

Bo loved to chase snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and go-carts.  When I was small enough to ride the Mini-Z, Bo would grab it by the skis and jerk the snowmobile up, many times he almost flipped me off of it. Bo would always chase my dad’s four-wheeler. He would run up and down the yard forever, he would bite at the tires, all he wanted to do was play. Bo would also chase our go-cart, which was not as fast as the four-wheeler so Bo had a better chance trying to catch it. He was constantly running in front of it and biting at the wheels, he had so much fun chasing us around the yard no matter what we were riding.

My favorite holiday is the 4^th of July, and it was also Bo’s. Unlike most dogs, Bo loved fireworks. He would not bark at them but run toward them, he was fascinated by the colors and loud booms. Bo often tried to eat fire crackers. Bo was pretty fast at chasing them, most of the time he could have a fire cracker in his mouth before it would even go off, and this was scary because we did not want one to pop in his mouth.

Bo was not doing good one day, so I decided to sleep down stairs with him because he had trouble walking up stairs to my room. Throughout the night he was breathing heavy and making noises, I would tell him to be quiet and stop it because I wanted some sleep. The next morning, Bo was still breathing heavy and he was lying on the couch, he would not even get up to go to the bathroom. Before I left for school, I walked over to my baby and told him that I loved him and kissed him on the head. When I got home from school I went to my grandparents, when my mom got home from work she came to get me. My mom sat next to me on the couch and told me that she took Bo to the vet and she had to put him down. The vet said there was a tumor inside of Bo’s stomach that exploded, which was blocking his oxygen. Losing my best friend was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through, I love Bo with all of my heart, and I am so glad that I was able to tell him I love him and give my baby one last kiss before he passed away.

Dad

My relationship with my dad is a rocky one. We have never really seen eye to eye. I truly love him just like any daughter loves her father, but I find it quite difficult to show. My dad’s side of the family is not very emotional. They rarely give hugs, say nice things to one another, or spend time together as a family. Those are some things I have come accustomed to. I used to find it very weird that they did not do things in a loving manner or as a family, but now when I see my dad, or his side of the family it is something I am used to.

My dad left my house for the last time in 2007, which was my parents’ third and final separation. I have heard many kids talk about they how spend weekends hunting with their dad, fixing things, or simply going out to dinner. I have done those things with my father maybe a handful of times. I went hunting with my dad when I was a little girl, and he did take me to Field and Stream to take my hunter safety test, but those adventures have slipped away. When my parents were together my dad was always working on things out in the garage. My dad used to be quite the handy man, I would often be out there with him and when he needed a tool it was my job to hand it to him. The last time I worked on something with my dad was probably two years ago, I was helping him change the shocks on his truck. My dad does take my sister and I out to dinner every now and then. The three of us would always take the wrappers on our straws and throw them at one another. We used to be able to sit at a restaurant table and talk forever. Today, when we go out to dinner, my dad is glued to his phone, and since he is glued to his phone, so is my sister, which results in me doing the same thing.  

Many things have changed between my dad and I, and who knows, maybe it’s for the better. Maybe not seeing eye to eye is a good thing. I just wish he would have been there for me during major milestones in my life. I am glad that my dad made it to my graduation ceremony, and I am also pleased that he knows how hard I worked in high school and how seriously I am taking college.

I do love my dad, but there are things that I wish I could change. I wish we had a better relationship. I wish we could spend more time together. I wish he was more involved in my life, as well as my sister’s. I wish he knew that everything he missed out on in my life has passed, and that he cannot go back in time. I wish he would realize that his daughters are not little girls anymore. And I wish he would understand that his girls would like to have a daddy-daughter relationship with him again. 

Trent & Chase

Not everyone is close to their cousins, luckily for me, mine live next door. Trent and Chase have been a part of my whole life. Trent was born when I was almost two years old, we were the first children born in my family. So therefore, we were spoiled rotten and received a lot of attention. Mimi and Pa would often babysit us, when our parents were at work. At their house, we had a play room. Every morning, when we would go to our grandparents, we would head out to our play room and get all of our toys out. It did not take long for us to make a mess, but it did take Mimi some time to clean it all up.

Five years later, Chase came along. By the time Chase was born, there was myself, Trent, and Kayle. The four of us often found ourselves getting into trouble. When we were younger, we would always blame things on each other and argued every day.

As we got older, we seemed to fight less. Trent and Kayle would play together, and Chase and I would always be together. This is a "clique" we had formed, when we were young, and it is still the same today.

Chase and I have had a strong relationship for many years. Yes, he can be very annoying, but that's how any family member is. We are quite similar in personality and physical appearance. There have been many times where Chase and I have been asked if we are brother and sister.

Trent, Kayle, Chase, and I did the youth hunt a couple years ago. On Saturday, of that weekend, Trent shot a spike. The next morning, Kayle got a button buck, and minutes later I got a doe. Within the hour, Chase had killed a button buck. We were all overjoyed to have bagged a deer, and we knew that meant we would be getting cake. Before the youth hunt, my mom made a bet with us. She said that if we all got a deer that weekend, then she would buy us a cake from Mary's Creative Cakery. Needless to say, the cake was very tasty.

Living next door to my cousins can be frustrating. They randomly show up inside my house, butt in on my conversations, and are always all up in my business. There are countless things they do that annoy me, but I will love them forever. Trent and Chase are always there for me when I need a laugh, a talk, or people to hang out with. Even though I complain about them 24/7, I would not trade either of them for any other guys in the world.

Oliver James

My boyfriend, Oliver has been by side for over eighteen months. We have experienced a few rough patches in our relationship, but have also made many memories together. Oliver was the type of guy who never thought about serious relationships, and everyone always said that he would never settle down. When we first began dating, I never thought he would mean so much to me, or that our relationship would last this long. Today, both of us are extremely happy with our relationship and we are always looking forward to what the future has in store for us.

Our first date was at the Dow, for a Monster Truck show. Each year I have always gone to this event with my dad. He said I could go with Oliver, but I had to let him know how our night went. When we first got there, Oliver and his friend Dakota had to back both of their trucks up on a snow bank to show off. The monster trucks were amazing, and it was a perfect first date. After it ended, we went back to his truck and raced Dakota and his girlfriend, Libby back to Dakota’s house. Racing through down town Saginaw was definitely one of the highlights of the night. After we left Dakota’s house, Oliver dropped me off. He said he wanted a hug so he got out of his truck and met me in front of it. Little did I know when he said he wanted a hug, he also meant a kiss. I was taken by surprise, and my stomach filled with butterflies.

Oliver and I are often told we do more things together than what some people do throughout their lifetime. We have gone to Mackinaw Island, camping, pier jumping, and snowmobiling, just to name a few.

When we went to Mackinaw Island it was Oliver’s first time there. While we were there he went to the penny machine, chose the image of the Grand Hotel, and told me to hang on to it because someday he will take me there.

Oliver and I have gone camping too many times to count. At the campground, last year for Halloween, I said we should dress up as an old couple and go trick-or-treating. Oliver completely hated this idea, but he agreed to do it because I wanted to, and he actually said he had fun!

I am absolutely terrified of lakes, ponds, fish, and seaweed, so pier jumping was something I never thought I would do. It took about an hour for Oliver to get me to jump into the water. When I did, I made him hold my hand and not let go, not only for the first jump, but every one after that.

Snowmobiling this past winter is something I will never forget. We rode the sleds up to the Mackinaw Bridge. This was Oliver’s first time being out on Lake Huron while it was frozen. On our way back from our trip, we had to drive up on a snow bank. I was driving, and I gunned the throttle, but then let off. Doing so, threw Oliver and me from the snowmobile, but thankfully we landed in powdery white snow. After that, Oliver said I could no longer drive.

Oliver left for the Marines last October. He said it was up to me if I wanted to continue our relationship or not. Oliver had signed a contract to be enlisted for five years, but this did not scare me, so of course I said I would stay with him. Once Oliver graduated, after three months of training, he flew home to see me. Being able to hold him again, and feel him squeeze me was the best feeling. After eighteen days he flew back to California. Two weeks later he called me, saying he had both good and bad news. The good news was that he was coming home, and the bad news was that he was being discharged because of a back injury. I am so glad that I do not have to worry about him being overseas now, but I still feel bad because serving our country was his dream. I feel that if Oliver and I could go three months without seeing or talking to each other, then we can do anything.

These memories I share with Oliver mean the world to me. He has been my boyfriend, best friend, and sidekick for eighteen months. Everything my family does, he tags along. Oliver is part of my family. I am extremely thankful Oliver has settled down, and that our relationship is so strong. I cannot wait to create more unforgettable memories with him.