OLE' PETEY and I

When I was a really young kid, I knew animals were important to me. 

My parents were always busy and freaky and OCCUPIED. 

We lived in a small apartment in Glendale, Queens and the houses were attached.  Our nearest neighbor was a woman named Kris.  She was married but CHILD-LESS.  Older than my parents, and yet my mother seemed to view her as a "lesser-than" because of her CHILD-FREE STATUS. 

Kris always had dogs, tho'.

And she had me, too.

My father worked all hours and my mother was super-busy with my hyper older brother and my infant younger brother.  I coulda got lost in the mix,

But I didn't,

'cuz I had Kris.

When I was tiny, Kris had a dog named

Queenie.

She was a long-haired dachshund

And not so keen on kids.

So I admired ole' Queenie

And never pushed my hand

I admired and loved her

From afar.

By the time Queenie passed on,

I was about 6 and

Kris got Petey.

Petey was a GERMAN SHORT-HAIRED POINTER.

Yessir, that's what Petey was.

He was white and tan-spotted

And hyper and crazed

And I loved him so much

I thought I might die.

We were such good friends

Ole' Petey and I…

 

TO BE CONTINUED….