Blogember: Day 12

Today's prompt is: Your First Pet

I can't actually remember the order that my 3 main childhood pets came into my life. I grew up with 2 cats (Becky and FatBoy/Kitty BiteU) and 1 dog. Despite the fact that I actually only have a photo of Becky on my laptop here - I'm going to talk about my childhood dog, Tera.

Sorry, Becky. Not today.

After a slew of adopted dogs that didn't work out, my parents came home one day with Tera. A small ball of energy with hair that stuck up all over the place. It would eventually grow out as she grew up into the long thick hair that people usually associate with a collie.

Her actual name was Ephemeroptera Heptageniidae which is the scientific name for some kind of mayfly. Don't ask me. My parents are science-y insect people and I obviously wasn't allowed to name her. Which is only too fair considering that I named a cat Becky, a previously adopted Irish Setter Donut O'Dog (he was Irish) and would later name a dog after Taylor Hanson. Not that a name a regular person can't pronouce is much better come to think of it, but I digress.

I have two very clear memories of Tera - the first is of her laying on the floor across the front of my bedroom door at the end of the hallway. I would often trip over her in the middle of the night leaving my room and she would prevent anyone from coming in. My big protective Lassie.

The second is in the summertime, my parents would have her hair shaved down because it was hot and there was a literal ton of it. You could read embarrassment all over her face when she would come out of the groomers naked with little bows tied by her ears. We had to put a t-shirt on her (one of mine, The Little Mermaid), tied up in a knot on the back or she would refuse to go outside. Poor baby just didn't want to be naked in public - who can blame her?

Tera lived a long life for a collie and went to sleep only when her body couldn't hold her up anymore. She was the perfect companion to grow up with and I still miss her today.