What are Your Favorite Animals?

It would be easier to say which animals I don’t like if I am being honest. I love animals in general. I have always had an affinity for birds, I even had a childhood nickname based around it, and used to love raising pheasants, quail, bantam chickens and the like. I also like chickens even if they are dirty dinosaurs.

I had a pet chicken named Spot once, she was mostly white, very petite with one black spot on her back. She used to fly up onto my shoulder. I had to stop her eventually because she was getting my shoulder muddy from chicken poop.

I also had a pet butterfly for a weekend. I found a hurt western yellow swallowtail. I took it with me everywhere and fed it hummingbird nectar from an eye dropper. It had a hurt wing, but it could fly short distances. I would set it down to go in the house because my mom didn’t want me to bring it inside, and go back outside and get it. It was cool because I could lift my finger and it would fly to me. But, Monday I had to go back to school, so I left it on a bush by the backdoor. When I came back it was gone.

I also had a pet rabbit, a goose, several cats, and different dogs growing up. We even had some horses at one time. But they didn’t like me much, or the one didn’t. He would scare me on purpose, like run at me toward the fence. He also would buck me off any chance he got. So, yeah, I didn’t ride him much. The other one was a traumatized racehorse. She spooked easily and she was a thoroughbred so her back was kind of boney and uncomfortable.

I love the idea of horses, but I never had great experiences with them. But I was always reading horse books, and drawing horses and deer. I also drew unicorns and dragons though. I can honestly say I have never successfully ridden on those either. So, there is that.

I love cats as well, but each one is different, so they are almost like little demanding people. One of mine kept me up last night because my son stayed at a friend’s house. It is like she didn’t understand why I wasn’t worried.

I like dogs too, but they require more maintenance. Although I love their loyalty. Unlike most people, you know where you stand with them. They are honest. I like their goofiness as well. They can be downright silly.