cats and dogs

Robert, You are not in the doghouse. I am sorry I gave you that impression. I was just a little depressed and lonely because I wasn't going to see you for 2 and a half more days. I love you so much, I don't want to wait that long. But I have to and I can, so I should. That is funny about Steve and Debbi and the cat. Did I ever tell you about Lara and I and the Lion (a bigger cat) at the Tierpark in Siegelbach? If not remind me to tell you someday. I used to have a parakeet. I was going to teach it to talk. When it was 6 months old it drowned. I know it sounds funny now, but it was a traumatic experience for an 11 year old girl who had just lost her best friend. Over Spring quarter my other pet died. She was an albino rat. Her name was whitey. I know. It sounds kind of dorky, but she was so cute. Joe used to have a rat too, but she died over Christmas break. My mother would never let us go near her if we had them on our shoulders. Philip used to have hamsters, but I think they have all died. Between my two brothers we have had almost every pet imaginable. We have had snakes, turtles (in Germany we had the little ones you keep in the aquarium), spiders and more. Over the years we have had numerous cats. Some good, some bad. My parents had a dog, lady, when they were first married - but when they had me she got jealous and so they gave her away. My grandparents also gave them a dachshund as a wedding gift. I remember Zuggi (I am not sure how to spell it, but that is how it sounds). She lived to be pretty old. 16 years if I remember right. The closer to the ground a dog is, the shorter they live. We were in Germany when she got cancer in her leg. I remember holding her after she had seizures. The next day my dad took her to be put to sleep. My mother didn't want to know when he went. She was really a friend of the family. Right now they have an ugly dog. They named her Sandy. She looks much better when she is shaved, but she is still UGLY. My dad says she looks like a sewer rat. Sometimes she stinks, but I think it is because they live in El Centro. At first my dad told them they couldn't keep her, but she kind of grows on you. She is about the size of a cat and really scrawny. I better go now. You are going to be calling me any minute. I love you. Wanda