   "My Very Favorite Pet!" Caroline Ellis - "When I was younger and living at home, we weren't allowed too many pets because my brother was troubled with asthma. So, as a result, about the furriest animal I was able to have at the time was a turtle! Well, I never complained - in fact, I was proud of the little thing! But it wasn't until the Bugaloos adopted Sparky that I realized what I had been missing. It's really funny how we discovered good 'ole Spark! When Marty Krofft was showing me and the rest of the Bugaloos around our new house, all of us heard this strange growl! It didn't take us long to discover that a lively little round ball of fur had wandered in to approve 'his' new home too! A neighbor told us that the dog apparently had no permanent home, so when things quieted down a bit and all our unpacking was out of the way, we bathed Sparky and trimmed his fur. Then, as if by magic, the shaggy-haired brown dog disappeared and an off-white dog - part poodle and part cocker spaniel - emerged! This was only the beginning of many enjoyable times we had with Sparky. Just the other day three very large dogs entered our yard while Sparky was out there alone. I saw him from a window upstairs and called to the guys to watch that he wouldn't get hurt. But it turned out that little Sparky just walked right by the big dogs holding his head up high, and it was all so cute!" Wayne Laryea - "When somebody asks you to talk about a favorite pet or animal you really enjoy, you'd expect most people to tell you about their cuddly kitten or a playful little dog perhaps. Right? Well, not me! Call me "different" if you want 'cause I'm going to tell you about the snakes I once had! You see, my father used to be a performer and had his own show - he was kind of like a "one-man circus" because he did so many unusual things! He danced on broken glass, was a fire-eater, and even had a live snake act! An incident I'll never forget was the time my dad and I were walking back to our car late one night. As usual, after a show we'd transport the snakes in a zipped bag. (They were a python and boa constrictor named Petsey and Tweechy, by the way!) Well, a policeman had spotted us, and I noticed he was eyeing us suspiciously. I guess he thought we were criminals and were carrying the "loot" because within seconds he came over and asked what was in the bag! Finally he insisted we open the bag, so reluctantly my dad did, and when the officer bent over to see what was inside, he nearly passed out! To this day, I have to laugh when I recall all the fun times I had with those silly snakes! So maybe they weren't like most pets since they couldn't bury a bone, fetch a stick, or play with a ball of yarn, but they were my pets, and they were my favorites!" John McIndoe - "I guess I was really lucky having grown up as a circus entertainer. Being surrounded by so many animals at an early age taught me to appreciate and care for them, and once in awhile I was allowed to help train them which was always fun! But, believe it or not, out of all the animals I was in contact with, my very favorite was my own pet mouse, Hammy! Oh, I had a mongrel dog named Rusty that I really liked, but Hammy was "special." She was a tiny grey field mouse that I found in England one day while traveling with the circus. After we brought Hammy home, we figured it would be best to keep her away from our dog, so I made Hammy her own little house out of a plastic bag with air holes. It was fun back then; I remember taking my little mouse for walks or for a romp through our yard. And what was so great was that no matter where we went she always stayed right with me, so I never had to worry about losing her. Of course, that was a long time ago, but I know I'll always remember my funny little mouse!" John
Philpott -
"Hang in there now, because I've got a little rabbit to tell you
about!
Whenever someone mentions pets, "Candy" is the one that immediately
comes
to mind. If only you could have seen her. Candy was a
beautiful
shiny black rabbit given to me when I was around nine years old by my
best
mate, Nick. I'll never forget the way I raised her from a little
black puff into the frolicky five-pound ball of fur she grew up to
be!
There was a time a good friend of mine came over with his huge spotted
dog, and as you can imagine, that meant instant chaos! We were
all
out in the yard when my rabbit began chasing a cat, the dog was chasing
the rabbit, and I was trying to catch all three! It was a
while
before we finally got things settled down, but when we did my friend
and
I had a good laugh! Looking back, I think that Candy really added
much to my childhood. We had her for eight years and each day she
brought me comfort and happiness. And for a little ball of fur,
that's
quite a lot!" |