Random Thoughts from a Random Memory

By Edward Master

We had only one cat for a pet when I was growing up. I was fairly young when we had the kitty, but it wasn’t around that long. I have no idea of its fortune.

My only keepsake from that cat is a scar above my lip that I cover with my mustache.

We had dogs—beagles. When I was younger, pre-teen, they were Dad’s hunting dogs to fetch rabbits. I recall him speaking of Moxie, when he was younger, probably before he went into the Navy during WW II. I vaguely remember Queenie. She was his hunt-and-fetch, too. I’m not sure if Queenie met up with a porcupine or not. I know one of our dogs did at one time. We picked out spines with pliers.

The only story Dad told about Moxie was on his walk to the old Klingler house on Weeter Hill. He told of seeing a curtain flapping in a window, his dog put its tail between its legs and then ran home. Why? Only the “spirits” know.

As I got older, Queenie became more and more a family pet, as Dad’s hunting expeditions became less and less frequent. I never became the small game hunter or large game for that matter. Leo, one of our next beagles, never was never a hunting dog, just a pet. A stray named Gracie (named after my Mom’s middle name) became a pet, with brown chocolate fur, as soft as a kitten’s, who graced us with a litter of pups we had to find homes for. My sister Cindy thought the father of the litter belonged to a neighbor.

Max was our last family dog as a pet. He was outside, but spoiled rotten. He was a dear. My sisters looked after Max. After the dogs were gone, we had a quite fertile patch of ground where the dog pen (and Leo were located). Dad decided to grow cucumbers. The cukes grew quite large, too large, as they were sort of tough. Oh, well.

Dad then broke his string of beagles for pets, that was Scotty the cat’s arrival. Scotty went outside and he was Dad’s pal. Scotty lived on Dad’s lap. H.E. was devastated when Scotty passed away.

My sister Shari and BIL Larry have always had a dog, Rusty passed but then they inherited Beau, an adoption via daughter Stefanie from her time at Slippery Rock University. Beau has it made. He went through an obedience course and basically has the run of the house, or what Sydney their cat allows. I always liked dogs but never desired one for a pet. My wife always had cats in her family and so we decided too we would stick with the felines.