Justin was one of the sweetest & best dogs I've ever known. We got him as a puppy (from one of my aunt Martha's litters) and for 10 years he tolerated untold humiliation; namely, me dressing him up in clothes & taking photos of him. I was also in 4H and competed in dog obedience with him, which he didn't enjoy although he was quite good at it. We won lots of ribbons! Justin was extremely mellow & easygoing...he was willing to put up with anything. I had to euthanize Justin during my junior year of college after he had been sick for a couple of months & was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. My best friend Charlotte went with me. I have never been so heartbroken in my entire life, and still get teary-eyed when I think about him.
Bailey, too, was one of Martha's puppies & turned out to be a model citizen. She did obedience work with me, and ran down the driveway every single morning to fetch the paper for us. She even was hit by a car once while fetching a paper that was in the street, but fortunately it wasn't serious. Bailey & Justin knew at least a dozen tricks, which I loved to show off whenever we had visitors. Bailey passed away a few years ago at the age of 16. Selfishly, I was so glad to be living out here in Kansas City and not around when it happened. Made it slightly easier on me. But my mom & stepdad still aren't over her.
I don't know how I talked my parents into getting Solomon for me. I wasn't the kind of kid who was reliable about caring for birds (my parakeet had been killed by one of our cats years earlier), and I hated cleaning the cage. But he was very cute & amicable. He was named after the NES game "Solomon's Key." Justin & Solomon were featured on a local news station's "stupid pet tricks" story. We went down to the studio to be filmed. Solomon sat on Justin's nose until Justin decided he had had enough, and he shook his head, sending Solomon flying. We ended up selling Solomon to a bird lover when I decided I didn't want to deal with cleaning the cage. If I had been a more mature kid, he would have made the coolest pet!
I found Jordan abandoned on the property of Sharon Goodburn, for whom I worked for 6 years (I've basically been working non-stop since the age of 12!) Sharon was a collie breeder & ran a boarding kennel, so I was caring for 30-80 dogs at a time, often by myself. Back to the goose...Jordan was dehydrated & sick when I found him, so we took him to our vet, who taught me how to feed him liquids through a stomach tube until he was better. Jordan was young enough that he imprinted on me & I was "Mom." He followed me everywhere. I took him down to Alum Creek, which ran through our backyard, rolled up my pants legs & waded in the water while he swam behind me. I would sit on the steps of the deck & he would lay on his back on my lap and fall asleep. Nothing cuter than a sleeping gosling curled up in your lap, with his goofy webbed feet up in the air! When the school bus would come in the morning, Mom had to hold Jordan on the deck behind the house while I went down the driveway in front, to prevent him from following me onto the bus. Which happened once! As Jordan grew he became more interested in the Canada goose that visited the creek, and eventually he migrated with them. A perfect, happy ending! For years Mom said she would see one goose who stood apart from the rest of the flock & keep watch. I'd like to think that was my little guy.
So there you go: a little window into the zoo that has been my life for as long as I can remember!
p.s. - Jordan was named after the New Kid on the Block. (I blame Kelley!)
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