the questions continue

Q: Tell about your favorite pet. What kind of animal? When did you get it?

A: Wow - looking back we had all sorts of pets - dogs, cats, mice, hamsters, birds, etc.. I loved them all. I have memories of several of these pets too. "Rosco" was a beagle that someone stole out of our yard in Georgia - he was just a puppy. "Shadow" was a cat that we had in California - I found her hanging by her neck in the crook of a tree and we were pretty sure the neighbor kid killed her - he was a bully like that. I had mice - "sugar" and "spice" (white and black) and I used them for a science fair project! They were fun to play with. They ran mazes well, and they were quite the astronauts (or is that Mice-o-nauts?). Anyway, after moving out on my own, I was lonely for an animal. I decided one day that I wanted to get a dog. I started looking in the paper and I came upon an ad that said: "Rufus - sweet black lab - can't keep him anymore. He's all caught up on shots, he loves to run, I have extra food for him. Is Rufus pound bound?"
Well, this ad broke my heart - I couldn't let Rufus go to the pound - so I called and he was delivered to me within a few hours.
Rufus was a black lab - with a black tongue! He was hyper as all get out! He loved to run, jump, lick you, etc.. We developed a quick bond. He'd bark at people he didn't know and being a student at LSU meant that there were a lot of people that we didn't know! I bought Rufus a purple leash and collar - it really stuck out against his black fur.
Rufus got me sued. That's right! One night I was taking him for a walk and he saw a cat in a window. He jumped faster than I could blink. His nose hit the window - the cat went running off - the window cracked - the man inside came out with a gun. Later the man said that Rufus killed his cat and he tried to sue me. Fortunately for me my mother worked for an attorney who sent a nice letter to the man explaining what would happen if he went after me and the man backed off.
After Tim and I were married, our apartment was robbed and Rufus was there. He was enticed away from the thieves with bread - and he barked at me when I got home! Silly dog!
When Tim and I moved we couldn't take Rufus with us so Tim's parents took him in. He continued to play - now he had companions. He continued to jump and lick at you!
One day he got really sick and we learned that he had a tumor in his belly. It was the size of a cant elope and there was nothing we could do about it. Rufus became lethargic and didn't play as much. We got him some medicine to ease the pain. We did all we could to make him comfortable.
Then one day he jumped up and ran and played like he was a puppy - it was wonderful. The next morning he died. I cried and cried. We buried him at my grandmother's home, under a beautiful tree.
So that's Rufus - my favorite pet. I loved him, I miss him, I know I'll see him again.