ANIMALS IN MY LIFE.
© PAMELA DOUGLAS 2008
ISBN 978-1-906658-16-8
Animals in my life. Illustrations by Pamela Douglas
Book Design, cover & Typesetting by;
David Stockman Creative Designer
Published by M-Y Books,
187 Ware Road,
Hertford.
m-ybooks.co.uk
The right of Pamela Douglas to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the Copyright holders written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers.
To the memory of my lovely husband who shared with me my constant pre-occupation with our four-footed friends.
TIGS
NEWCOMER
HARRIET HARCOURT HEN
THE PUPPY
ON GUARD
POOR TIM
NEW KITTEN
PADDY
SULLIVAN
OH TORTOISE
SUNDAY MORNING
LITTLE WHITE RABBIT
SPLINTERS
WINTER VISITOR
YOUNG FRIENDS
SUKI
SHORT ACQUAINTANCE
VERA
SPRINGTIME
NEWTS
BETH
OH, WHAT WILL FATHER SAY?
PRRRRRRRRRR-RRRRR-RRRRR
HYAM
NEXT DOOR CAT
THE CONFIDANT
EARLY MORNING
WHERE IS HYAM NOW?
OMO
BUDDIES
BUSTER
THE LILY POND
SHAH
BUMBLY
CUSHION
OLD CITY HORSES
BIG TOM
OUR UNCARING WORLD
THE PANAMA HAT
MOTHER CAT
THE MILL POND
THE BUTTERFLY
REMEMBERING
ARREST – A – CAT
THE SNAIL
BORIS
BILL
MY CAT
FOREWORD
Tigs was a cat,
A gentle old cat,
I did not know him when he was small.
Tigs was a cat,
I remember that,
Tigs was a cat,
That’s all.
Tigs is the first animal I can remember,
come, come and meet the others.
Inquisitive eyes,
Impertinent tail,
Infinitesimal size,
Instinctively male,
Inferior fur,
Imperious yell,
Impulsive purr,
Invaluable bell,
Informally fond,
Intensely aware,
Immortal bond,
Ingenuity rare,
Incredible poise,
Indisputably King,
Impartial to noise,
My parents kept chickens
Where I was born,
The old cock-a-doodle
Would crow each morn.
They did not have many,
I think about ten,
The oldest was
HARRIET HARCOURT HEN.
I’d put my arms firmly
Around her neck
And stroke her soft feathers,
As she would peck
At the corn we had thrown on
The winter ground,
Her chattering chicklets
All scrabbling round.
She was gentle and soft
And I’ll never forget
The feel of my very
First family pet.
A puppy called Ruff,
He was soft and tiny,
He had wobbly legs,
He was black and shiny.
He had no pedigree,
No Kennel name,
But we did not care,
We loved him the same.
We would play for hours,
Ruff, my brother and I,
Rolling and running
And jumping high.
What life had that puppy,
What fun and what barks,
What games we got up to,
What pranks and what larks.
Then one day that puppy
Got ill, sad and low,
When we went for walks
He’d not want to go.
His eyes became streaming,
His nose cracked and dried,
His lithe little body
Just lay down and died.
There he lay,
One very hot day,
Stretched out in the August sun,
With feet out spread