Karen’s Chat about Childhood Pets

Dogs were always a part of my life, especially growing up. We had many, and one was our beautiful, gentle, Sally. She was part of our life for over ten years.

I don’t recall when we got her as a puppy, but it was the late sixties, and Lassie was all the rage. So, everybody had Rough Collies during that time.

We lived in three different houses in her lifetime. In the first house, I was eight and I remember our other dog, a mongrel called Ricky, came to tell us Sally had got out and had been hit by a car. Obviously, he didn’t nudge us and ‘excuse me, but…’ 😅

My brother and I were playing on our bikes out front when Ricky came running down the road barking at us. It became obvious he wanted us to follow him. We did and cycled to the end of the road when a neighbour told us what happened.

Sally wasn’t allowed out on her own, but Ricky was an outdoor dog and came and went whenever he wanted. We raced home and, told Dad, and he found Sally cowering under the table. Luckily, she was unhurt.

Sally went everywhere with us, she was a constant in our lives. In 1978, she developed a tumour and the kindest thing was to have her put down. It literally broke our hearts. I still recall hearing Dad sobbing in the bedroom. Downstairs, Mum ironed with tears streaming down her face. My little sisters huddled together and talked about their beloved pet. My brother’s bottom lip constantly trembled. Oh, how we loved that dog!

Visit Julie’s blog to find out about her childhood pets.