Our pets are part of the family
November 25, 2025
Jeanne Newby
Our family has had bad years in which many of our senior furry pets passed on. Between my mother, sisters, brother and nieces, we lost seven pets one year. Most of the pets were at least 16 years of age, so they were definitely family members. Many of our friends have lost their senior pets as well.
Many people I know say they don’t want to get attached to a pet because they don’t want to endure the pain when they are gone. How sad for them that they don’t get to enjoy the many hours of companionship, entertainment, and love that a pet brings into the home.
Dedication is a word that explains the relationship with a pet. You are dedicated to the pet, but the pet is solely dedicated to you.
I recall our family dog, a Pekingese mix, that we had back in 1971. She had been with us for two years and had experienced the homecoming of a baby girl in 1969 and a baby boy in 1970. Well, I was expecting our third child, and our sweet Cuddles was expecting her first litter of pups.
We lived in Mississippi (Navy base), and our cottage was located about a fourth mile from a lake. We would often walk down to the lake as a family and watch Stan fish. Cuddles enjoyed those family walks, and she stayed close by to keep an eye on my two babies.
As Cuddle’s due date neared, I was careful to keep an eye on her. Our 2-year-old was keeping an eye on her, too, and when Cuddles wanted outside, she opened the screen so Cuddles could scoot out the door. After a while, I realized I could not find Cuddles. I walked around the yard calling for her. I couldn’t leave the house with two babies so I just continued to call her name.
About an hour later, Stan arrived home from work, and we started searching for pregnant Cuddles around the neighborhood. The day was fading into dusk when I looked down the road toward the lake and there she was, slowly walking home. She would take a few steps, stop for moment and take another. She was in labor. She had heard us calling and was determined to make it home to us… one tiny step at a time.
Stan ran to get her and carried her home. We made her a little nest to bring her puppies into the world. She was having problems and she looked up at Stan as if to say, “Please help me.” Stan didn’t know much about “birthin’ no babies,” as the lady in “Gone with the Wind” had stated. He always said he was lucky to be out at sea on a Navy aircraft carrier when our first two were born and all he had to do was wait for the telegram! So this was new territory for him. But love for Cuddles made him jump in and help the little lady. She had five pups that all lived. Cuddles was our first baby, born just a couple of months before our first child. She traveled to all our different homes while Stan was relocated in the Navy, and she settled down with us when we returned to Webb City. She lived to be 13-years-old and was the best dog ever. That is until we adopted yet another family pet and that one became the best dog ever. Our home has always had a furry friend or two and sometimes three!
In 1998, we took our Pomeranian pup, Chipper to Niagra Falls in New York and to Hershey, Penn. He was such a pretty pup that people would stop and ask if they could take a picture of him. He was also invited to be in many vacation movies. Stan felt like a movie star posing with Chipper. We often imagine those people 10 years later watching those vacation movies and trying to remember why they took a picture of that red headed guy holding the red Pomeranian. Chipper left us at the age of 16. He was the best dog ever!
I won’t list all of my family’s pets that passed during that particularly bad year, but we do have some wonderful memories with all of them. Memories help them live on and make us smile and even laugh. We joke that my dad is pretty busy up there in heaven taking care of all our pets. Or they may be busy taking care of Dad!
We have stories about hamsters losing a leg. Guinea pigs whistling, ferrets chasing bare toes and many other critters. Those stories live on in the family. We share them from one generation to the next! We have had pets of all sizes, all breeds, all colors. And they all were the best ever!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take a moment to share a family story at the dinner table. Be sure to throw in one that makes you look silly. Those are the ones the grandkids like to hear. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
