[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] yes  uh well right now we have one dog inside
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] she goes out but I mean she's an indoor dog
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] and two outside cats
[speaker001:] oh gosh and how long have you had them
[speaker002:] male and female the male the dog is probably about about thirteen fourteen years old and the cats are
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] they might be as old I'm not sure yeah
[speaker001:] kind of lose track well that's interesting because we have a similar we don't have cats but we do have a dog who is an indoor dog and she is going to be thirteen this summer so yes uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh oh is that right what kind of dog do you have
[speaker001:] um she's um a mix of Cockapoo Cocker Cocker Spaniel and Poodle
[speaker002:] oh that's what ours is yes
[speaker001:] is that right isn't that interesting what color is your dog
[speaker002:] white
[speaker001:] oh well ours is black so definitely different yes she's a female and she's um been she's been a really a really good companion for me um she's like a little shadow you know kind of follows me around all the time and
[speaker002:] oh uh-huh I'll be darned uh-huh oh yeah
[speaker001:] and um she's slowing down considerably she doesn't hear very well and she doesn't see very well but she's yeah at this age I guess so
[speaker002:] uh-huh well that's to be expected at their age yeah
[speaker001:] but um she's been a good dog to have and I don't know once she's gone I'm not sure if I'll get another animal or not
[speaker002:] well everybody always says no more but I I think animals are really important in the family I
[speaker001:] yeah yeah I agree yes um did you get yours as a pet for your children do you have children uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh yeah we have five ah
[speaker001:] uh-huh oh well I was wondering if you got your dog originally as a pet for them or just because you'd had dogs before or
[speaker002:] well we have had we had had a a dog before she was fifteen when she died and uh this one we bought by accident a farmer called us and wanted us to call the animal shelter to come or the dog catcher or somebody to come and get this
[speaker001:] my goodness uh
[speaker002:] puppy that somebody people drop things like that off up there and I said gee she sounds like a cute little dog I told the kids let's go look at her
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah uh-huh oh yeah
[speaker002:] go get her so that's how we got her quite by accident
[speaker001:] isn't that yes so that often happens that way well we had um intentionally um planned to get a dog we had just moved into this house and um decided to wait a about a year and then went then we went out then and found one she was in the litter and um
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] she was so cute because all the other little puppies in that litter were just crazy I mean they were all over the place and she was real docile and came over and just kind of sat next to us and I thought that's the dog for me
[speaker002:] oh oh she picked us
[speaker001:] yeah so she and it what was funny was that um our daughter must have been let's see she must have been about eight at the time I guess and um
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] she just loved this little dog to pieces but I think she loved her too much because the dog has never been real comfortable with her I think she was always a little bit leery of her
[speaker002:] oh oh uh-huh
[speaker001:] our son on the other hand who was about eleven at the time was um not very interested in pets but as it turned out he and this dog have gotten to be really good pals
[speaker002:] oh for heaven's sake
[speaker001:] so you just never know how that works out
[speaker002:] no but they say it's real important for children to have pets because uh well they can go and talk to them any time they want to and tell them anything they want to and
[speaker001:] uh-huh yes yeah
[speaker002:] nobody is going to you know reprimand them or know their secrets or
[speaker001:] that's right that yes they're very unjudgmental oh dear
[speaker002:] yeah yes and the nursing homes now they're finding that it's real important to take a pet into a nursing home
[speaker001:] yes I have been I have been reading and seeing about that on television uh-huh and how
[speaker002:] uh-huh  our one our one nursing home in Brooksville has one
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] permanent
[speaker001:] is that right
[speaker002:] he he kind of has free run of the place and there is somebody or somebody takes care of him
[speaker001:] isn't that amazing
[speaker002:] but he goes up and down the halls visiting people and real nice dog uh and uh
[speaker001:] uh-huh yes it's funny how um how pets can kind of um oh take on a certain status in certain areas I mean um that made me think of uh when our daughter was looking at colleges we visited a campus in um Saint Louis and
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] um there were several dogs on the campus and and the what was interesting about it was that they were very friendly but they didn't appear to belong to anyone and um I'm sure someone you know fed them they were healthy looking dogs
[speaker002:] uh-huh oh really oh yeah
[speaker001:] but um our guide that day said that the lady one woman many many years ago had given a huge sum of money to to the university on the condition that there be um dogs just kind of left to roam around around the campus
[speaker002:] is that right
[speaker001:] which is the strangest thing I had ever heard
[speaker002:] yeah because most campuses don't allow pets you know they just do not allow them
[speaker001:] I know yes I know it
[speaker002:] that's that's kind of great
[speaker001:] yes it really was it was just a nice touch and it kind of made it seem more homy too but um the I thought that was most unique and it just you know kind of goes along with what you were saying about the dog having sort of free run of the the nursing home
[speaker002:] yeah yes yeah uh-huh
[speaker001:] so um but uh I this is the only pet we've had since you know in all our years of marriage um and it's been uh sort of a a change for my husband because as a a a boy growing up
[speaker002:] um
[speaker001:] his father had dogs but they were always hunting dogs and so they were never allowed in the house you know they were always kind of yeah right that's what he said yes so having a pet was a little bit different for him
[speaker002:] oh uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh yeah we've ruined them they say they'll ruined them well we've had a lot of different pets we had the kids had rabbits for pets and we also raised them for food at one time
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah oh yes
[speaker002:] and we've had it we've had a skunk for a pet
[speaker001:] oh my golly
[speaker002:] for more years than I want to think about she was in the house
[speaker001:] oh gosh isn't that interesting I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who's actually had a skunk for a pet oh
[speaker002:] well don't don't ever get one for a pet they're okay but like she uh they don't ever learn their name
[speaker001:] ah
[speaker002:] uh you can't you could never call her and she would come to you you had to go chas e her down
[speaker001:] yeah I'll be darned how interesting
[speaker002:] and uh their eyesight they can't see very far either but
[speaker001:] uh-huh I guess I've heard that uh-huh
[speaker002:] they they before before we got her everybody said oh they're just like a cat you know
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and uh they're not I mean they use the litter box that's about it as far as
[speaker001:] isn't that interesting that's that's really something um how long did you have that
[speaker002:] oh my how how long probably seven or eight years
[speaker001:] goodness sake
[speaker002:] and finally my children are the ones who said mom you've put up with that skunk long enough so we moved her to the basement and I don't think she was there a week till the men moved built built her a pen outside and I thought I put up with that all those years
[speaker001:] oh my gosh Isn't that funny yes and this is what it took finally that is
[speaker002:] and we've had we've had cats two stay in the house we had we had two Siamese cats
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah uh-huh
[speaker002:] different times
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] uh one of them ran off she ran off once or he I guess it was a male he ran off twice and the second time he never came back
[speaker001:] my goodness
[speaker002:] and we would see him uh several miles from our house he kind of moved into a woods down there and he got huge down there
[speaker001:] uh-huh I'll be my goodness
[speaker002:] he really grew but he he never came back
[speaker001:] that's interesting that's interesting I I wouldn't picture a Siamese as being an outdoor cat
[speaker002:] well he wasn't a whole lot he was in the house most the time but uh he did go out sometimes and uh they make it makes a much nicer cat if they're outside
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah is that right
[speaker002:] yeah the the cats my son has a cat and the vet had told us they get strange if they're kept in the house all the time and their cat uh was not a friendly cat it was
[speaker001:] uh-huh well
[speaker002:] it was not a good I don't know it got it was just did get strange and since they've moved to where they are they let the cat out and it has improved the personality
[speaker001:] yeah so that that was right uh-huh