Pet Monologues

An endangered animal story by Nina, age 10.

I, Sara, a squirrel monkey, was hunting for my daily meal in the rainforest’s canopy: bugs, berries and leaves. I suddenly heard this noise that was so loud, it almost broke my eardrums! The tree I was in started to shake and I practically fell off! I quickly jumped into another tree, and the one I was in fell to the floor of the rainforest. After that exciting moment, I looked down, and saw a human with what I think was a chainsaw!

Illustration by Nina using Kid Pix.

I quickly called all the animals, (yeah, even that pesky ocelot that kept on chasing me). We had a meeting to come up with a plan that would stop the human from cutting the canopy, and make him go back where he came from. “How about we tie him up with vines and send him down the Amazon!” Jaguar exclaimed. Read the rest of this entry »

A “campfire” story taken from writing.com

[Introduction] Greetings!

note: Hooves of Fire! = author, WRITEING = Demon Squirrel

I, Hooves, have risked life and limb to travel to the deepest recesses of evil for this exclusive (and I hope Emmy winning) interview with the one and only Demon Squirrel. Due to the extreme evil of his countenance, I cannot look directly at him. He will be behind a curtain, speaking through the voice of Ercole who has kindly volunteered to channel the horrible demon’s answers to all of us.

This campfire will consist of me asking the questions (one at a time) and His Evilness answering through the Writeing of ercole, keeping his responses to 5 sentences or less if possible.

And now for the first question as soon as the campfire invitation is accepted. Read the rest of this entry »

Abstract

Relationships inevitably develop between humans and animals, regardless of the function or use of the animal partners. The need to recognize the existence of these human-animal bonds, as well as acknowledge the use of the animals, is widespread. Religious memorial services for animals in certain areas of the world provide an historical basis for such acknowledgment activities. The diversity of sacred and secular approaches to memorializing or acknowledging animals is illustrated by representative examples of such events. The need to establish such events, particularly in academic and research settings, is emphasized. The pros and cons of developing and establishing acknowledgment activities in addition to the benefits of implementing such events are discussed. Read the rest of this entry »

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to take my ex-roommate’s cat to the vet. I guess he’s my cat now. His name is Max and he’s a very skinny orange tabby cat. He came complete with a fifteen second memory span and he has only one facial expression, which is blank. I often wonder if he was somebody’s genetic cloning experiment. That or if he is suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. He’s just a living cat with barely a hint of character.

I’m trying to give him a personality but it’s difficult. I wonder if my techniques are working. The first technique is to hold him tightly against my chest and speak nonsense to him, kiss his face really hard, and then let him jump out of my arms to freedom. This does not seem to have any effect on him. He just looks mildly bewildered. The second technique is to spank his rump playfully. Again, there’s not much response. Not even the cliché look of superiority most normal cats constantly wear. But I haven’t picked Max up in days and have hardly petted him. I’ve even locked him out of my room. I’m disgusted by him right now. To get my mind off him I think about today’s homework. My teacher wants me to write about something I know a lot about. I glance at a picture of Evan, framed and sitting on my nightstand, where I can see it every night before I go to sleep. I think about Evan’s life and its tragic ending. I wonder if I should write about him. Read the rest of this entry »

We are flying from Long Beach on Jet Blue, our first flying experience with the upstart. We flew in from Chicago for a surprise birthday party for a beloved cousin and a long getaway weekend with family and friends. The last night cousin David showed us a six-month effort at digitizing old family photos that went back four generations. Memories came back in a flood of emotion and wonder as we revisited cherished photos and ones we had never seen before. In many of the photos were our pets that in some cases marked milestones in our lives. On the plane I decided to recreate the comings and goings of my pet dogs. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was eight my parents took me and friends to a Memorial Day fair. It was an hour drive and the third time we went so I was looking forward to all that the fair could offer. I sort of remember the weather being nice enough and one of the fun things was to pitch nickels in plates to win - ducklings! Well of course we went home with one and it was no big deal to get a box, a bowl of water, lettuce.The duck was named Donald and my first experience with an unusual rural type pet as we lived in the city. Throughout the summer Donald played in an inflatable swimming pool in the back yard and followed me and my friends around the yard. Fun!

As Donald matured, going from yellow fuzzy to white feathers he ate more and, crapped more. You would think with all the play time in the pool he would smell better as a young adult. By November Donald was now a duck.

My mother, who was bred and born in the city, did the unexpected that’s for sure. With no warning except to say as we all sat down for our Thanksgiving dinner that she had some news for us. It was about Donald. My dad just stared at her for a full five minutes it seemed. He then slowly got up, rolled up his napkin on the table and said that he was going out for dinner and would like company. I really don’t remember the details that followed except my dad was not very hungry. I do remember going to the first McDonald’s in the neighborhood and eating in silence.

This is just one of my many pet stories with my mom. This photo is not of Donald but the story seems to pop up every year in late November.