Grandchildren of a Different Sort

I've always been a cat person. From the time I was a baby we always had a cat, and subsequent kittens, in our home. Then I got married - to a man who is allergic to cats, and had children, some of whom were also allergic - so my days of being a cat owner ground to a halt.

Now I get my cat fixes at my daughter's house, where the famous hunter, Mickey, and her lazy pal, Percy, live. I actually have three grand-cats but Emily's Hero lives a sheltered life on the other side of the river and is seldom seen.

Besides the cats, we have two grand-dogs - Chester, the huge bull mastiff who lives in BC, and Bernie, the equally huge St. Bernard who shares a house with us. I love them both - the fierce protector of his territory mastiff and the gentle welcome-to-my-home-stranger Bernard.

Bernie is more than twice this size now but I haven't taken a picture of him recently. He's huge.

Chester bestows his favors on very few men - luckily Lloyd is one of the men he likes.

But he loves his kids and is very protective of them, thank goodness.

Oh, and lets not forget our grand-parakeet who lives an hour down the road with Jenny and her boys. I don't have a picture of him, but he's very interactive and loving in his own way. I love birds and have had several in my post-cat days.

So there they are - our alternate grandchildren. Every kid should have the experience of owning a pet, if only so their grandparents can enjoy them too.