Behind the Blog #8 Animals and Alcohol

Behind The Blog is a meme to help bloggers connect their life and interests to the content showcased on their blog. The co-hosts Faye Kathe and Melissa will provide a different topic, idea, or question every week that bloggers can relate to themselves and the books, films, or media they find interesting!

This week's topic is Animals
  Animals are everywhere and can make a large impact in people’s lives, so this week we’re asking how you feel about animals. Are you an animal lover? Do you get on with animals but don’t go out of your way to spend time with them? Do you dislike them? What is your favourite animal? Do you own any pets?
In relation to books and films, what animals have you loved reading or watching? This can include animals like werewolves, if you so wish!

If I had to describe myself, I'm not sure that I would say I'm an animal lover per se, but I don't dislike them. And of course there's no way that I can resist the cute faces of puppies and kittens. I think that I fall somewhere in the middle. I do  have a soft spot for animals, I just don't have any that are truly "mine" so I don't really think of myself as an animal person at this time in my life.

Growing up we actually had a bit of a menagerie of animals all at different times. We always had a number of cats, with interesting names. The cat that my parents had when I was a baby was by far my favorite. He was a black cat named Boo-Boo. My parents tell me that he used to climb into my crib and sleep at my feet (I think there's even a picture around somewhere of that) Even though he was technically my parents cat, I kind of felt like he was mine. He was a kitten when they got him, so we grew up together, in a way. He passed away at the age of 18 during my senior year of high school. It was a tough loss.

In addition to Boo-Boo, we had cats named Honey, Stinky, Bullet, and Gizmo. We also had a turtle at one point (I can't remember it's name). Of course we had a couple of fish, and we even had rats for a short period of time. Mine was named Cookie, because she looked sort of like an Oreo.

When I was a  teenager, we had a golden retriever named Tequila. She was a lot of fun. Unfortunately we moved to a place that wouldn't allow pets, so we had to give her to some friends of the family to be looked after.

Right now, we have two cats named Jack (after Jack Daniels) and Bailey (after Bailey's liquer) and a dog named Remy (Remy Martin). We used to have a dog named Ali, (after Alize) but she passed away a few months ago. We also have a (huge!) goldfish named Dorothy, (named after Elmo's Dorothy) who belongs to my 2 year old niece

I know what you must be thinking, "Why are all your pets named after alcohols?" Just to be clear, my sister acquired and named all of these pets herself, so I had no say in the matter. And not knowing that they were intentionally named after alcohol, you wouldn't really think much of the names.

When I have a place of my own and am more settled, I would love to have a bigger dog, like a husky or maybe a labrador. I'm leaning more towards a husky type breed because I know a dog who's of a similar breed who is the most gentle, sweet, loving dog I've ever met. Every time I see him I wish I could take him home with me.

Plus, huskies are similar to my favorite animal, which is the wolf. I don't know quite what it is about wolves that makes me like them so much but I do. Maybe it's their independence. They also have a sort of mystical, spiritual (not meaning religious here) quality to them that I like as well.

And, although I haven't had much experience with them, I really enjoy horses. I've pet them a few times, and they just seem so calming and friendly. I'd love to ride a horse someday.

In regards to books, for some reason I can only think of a few that I've read that deal with animals.

1. The Fourth Hand-by John Irving. The main character gets his hand bitten off by a lion. The story deals with the aftermath and how people treat him.
2. The Harry Potter Series- Now, I don't know if magical creatures are considered animals, but HP has a ton of them. There are dragons, thestrals, owls, spiders, pixies, snakes, etc.

As for movies, I have a few favorites that deal with animals too.

1. The Adventures of Milo and Otis- This used to be one of mine and my sister's favorite movies as children. It's the adorable story of a kitten and a puppy who go on quite the adventure with one another. There's actually a slew of other animals in this film too, as  they live on a farm, but I had forgotten about that until just now.
2. Homeward Bound (and sequels) This is a heart warming story about two dogs (Shadow and Chance) and a cat named Sassy, who become separated from their owners and have to make their way back to them.

I know there are plenty more that I could list but I can't think of them at the moment as it's late. What about you? What films and books do you like that feature animals?

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