The first animals I remember from my childhood are my dog Carmen and sweet cat Ceily. From the time I was 3 years old my childhood is filled with memories of Carmen, our energetic lab puppy, and Ceily our talkative Siamese mix. The house we used to live in was in a bad neighborhood, so not having a dog was out of the question. Although, sadly, Carmen was not much of a guard dog. Afraid of her own shadow, she would jump at any unexplained noise. Sweet Ceily used to curl up with me in my crib. She was very patient with babies. When I was only a few months old I would use her as a stabilizer when I would try to sit up. My mom says I would burry my fingers and my face in to her soft hair. After I grew to be a toddler, Ceily began to teach me how to treat her and other animals by either biting me gently or batting me with her soft paws. I learned quickly not to pull her tail.
Ceily, was the first of many cats to join our family. For a while we seemed to collect them, as each of us four children wanted our own. None of us claimed Ceily, she was the “family cat”. For a few years we had five cats. All with different quirks and personalities. Ceily would get confused if we got a real tree, so every year we would get an artificial one. Other wise, she would leave us "presents" under the tree. Annie, who was my cat, was afraid of her own shadow. We call Rocky “Mr. moody pants.” One minute he would be loving on you, and the next, he would bite you and run away! Chloe, our sweetest cat, was known as “Fatty.” She has never bitten any one at all. When you sneeze, she mews! It's like she is saying “Excuse you, will feeding me make you feel better?” Max, also known as “Slinky,” has the super ability to flatten himself like a pancake!
Ceily has passed away and we had to give Annie away when we moved to Colorado. After we moved here we got new animals, like guinea pigs, my very own snake named Bailey, and finally four chickens. Our guinea pigs have had two litters since we got them. I love the way we can train our guinea pigs to do super awesome stuff, like climbing the stairs and running into our bedrooms! Our talkative chickens also have their own personalities. One of the funniest things they love to do is to chase moths. They catch spiders too. Whenever we go in the backyard they all run as fast as their little chicken legs will carry them just to see if we have any treats for them to eat. Between the chickens and the guinea pigs, none of our uneaten fruits or veggies are ever wasted.
Even if they weren’t living breathing compost-eaters, my family and I would still welcome animals in our home. I cannot imagine my life without all my awesome animals, and all the joy they have brought into my life. Whenever I feel lonely, I can always talk to one of my animal family members. I never feel like I am truly alone. I don’t have to dress right or talk perfectly, they love me anyway. Their love is unconditional. That’s why I will never live without animals in my home.
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