Close to Nowhere

I grew up in an apartment in Memphis, Tenn., that had a no pets policy. It grieved me to no end. I wanted a cat.

I even snuck in a stray cat for a few days before my mama found it. And that was the end of that cat.

As soon as possible after Pop and I got married and I left home, I got a cat. And a dog! The cat was wonderful. We just called him Cat and he was a terrific guard cat. No one came safely on our front porch. Cat took care of his stuff.

The dog was a hound mix we got at the dog pound. We named him Tyrone and he was equally wonderful. That dog would eat anything and everything. Except, I made cornbread one night for dinner and it was really terrible. So, I gave it to Tyrone. He took one bite and then carried it to one of his corners, dug a hole and buried it. I was crushed. And I've laughed about it ever since.

We rescued a beagle we called Mamie one time. Daughter Dana was an infant and when it turned out Mamie was expecting babies herself I was thrilled.

As those puppies grew into their mischievous selves, I looked out the back door one day and saw all my sheets that had been blowing in the wind on the clothesline had attachments ­ all the little beagle puppies were hanging on the ends of the sheets by their teeth and flapping in the breeze right along with the sheets. Unfortunately video cameras hadn't been invented yet.

I've had cats and dogs ever since. And since we've lived here in Mississippi, I've also been privileged to share my home with horses, goats and various assorted critters, thanks to Dana and her daughters Merideth and Remy.

We got my cat Hobbes when Dana and son Kris were in high school. We got her at the Memphis dog pound and she was my cat for 17 years. She was a great cat although she hated every man that she ever met with dark hair.

When Merideth was in elementary school, she wanted her own dog. Her mom found her a miniature schnauzer puppy, and Mr. Bean came into our lives. That dog loved Mere! He was her constant companion.

As she and Bean got older, she went places, like summer camp, that he couldn't go. He'd live at my house while she was gone and look for her. Eventually, somehow, Bean came permanently to live at my house.

We had Bean for 14 years. His big, fierce heart, in his 15 pound body, finally gave out, when cancer racked his insides. I still grieve for that dog and miss him terribly.

Recently, I lost another dog ­ Lucy. She was old also, even when she came to live here. An 8-year-old country dog, my cousin Al couldn't keep her when he and his wife moved to the city from the country. Lucy was a very outside, wolf-looking sweetie who would have hated living in a fenced backyard.

For a year or so now, Lucy roamed my woods, following Dana on the four-wheeler and anyone else that wandered in my woods. Grandson-in-law Mitch couldn't cut the grass without close supervision and my great-grands, Shepard and Sissie (Ruby June) were always a delight for Lucy. Ever a gentle dog, around those two she became even gentler. She knew Sissie was scared of dogs and would be ever so careful and let Sissie get used to her. Sissie and Lucy grew to be great friends.

Lucy left here a couple weeks ago. I miss her a lot. She had the most expressive face and I could tell her anything and she understood ­ good and bad.

I have my cat, Hobbes Jr., but I miss having a good dog. I need one.

I'm cruising the Marshall County Humane Society website, Facebook and other adoptive sites. I need a Chihuahua or similar very small dog and a German shepherd, boxer or pittie type dog. They need to be older, housebroken and inside dogs.

Life without four-legged friends is just not as happy as life with them.