Pets
03/15/08 09:14
In this undated photo at the sheep herd, Frant is
shown with a dog and a horse. In the story below,
he discusses his pets.
Pasted Graphic
Pasted Graphic
Of all the horses we owned, a grey mare named
“Doll” was by far the favorite. She was stocky
built, a powerful puller in harness, yet full of
pep and life, proud of carriage, good to ride and
fine on the buggy when, about 1903, we were able
to afford the luxury of a “White Top”. Though
full of spirit, Doll was so well trained that
whenever we would fall from her, she would stop
quickly and stand patiently by a stump, rock or
fence until we (as many as five of us) could
crawl back on.
Doll’s first colt was such a beauty and we were so fond of it that Father said we petted all the life out of her. She grew to prodigious size but was never like her illustrious mother.
No amount of petting, however, could rob our dog Cub of his life and energy. He was the most demonstrative and rambunctious dog I ever knew. Being very large and full of energy, his antics were a continual source of amusement to all of us. He was taught to drive sheep and cattle, to retrieve, and even to drag drift wood from floods but had energy left over for mischief. We never could teach him not to chase our cats. It bothered me that Cub and the cats would not be friendly, as they were all friends of mine. I bear scars to this day of my efforts to make them become friends.
One day Ether came home with a beautiful red heifer calf across the pommel of his saddle. Its’ mother had died and it was given to me to raise. This was a great source of pleasure to me and I had visions of herds of cattle with my own brand roaming on the range in the summer and feeding at the long sheds in winter, all from this one heifer, without a thought on my part as of the cost of feed. As luck would have it, as this heifer grew to maturity she proved to barren and fit only for beef. As I never wanted any of the meat, it was only a disappointment for me.
We raised many pet lambs which we became fond of only to see them go away with the herd -- when they could be forced to stay with the herd -- in the fall, or find their way to the dinner table. I used to think, and still do, that a small band of sheep on the farm where they could graze on the open range nearby and in the fields in the fall and winter, would have been a good thing, especially withmy own ear mark on. My advice, however, was not sought or considered.
Doll’s first colt was such a beauty and we were so fond of it that Father said we petted all the life out of her. She grew to prodigious size but was never like her illustrious mother.
No amount of petting, however, could rob our dog Cub of his life and energy. He was the most demonstrative and rambunctious dog I ever knew. Being very large and full of energy, his antics were a continual source of amusement to all of us. He was taught to drive sheep and cattle, to retrieve, and even to drag drift wood from floods but had energy left over for mischief. We never could teach him not to chase our cats. It bothered me that Cub and the cats would not be friendly, as they were all friends of mine. I bear scars to this day of my efforts to make them become friends.
One day Ether came home with a beautiful red heifer calf across the pommel of his saddle. Its’ mother had died and it was given to me to raise. This was a great source of pleasure to me and I had visions of herds of cattle with my own brand roaming on the range in the summer and feeding at the long sheds in winter, all from this one heifer, without a thought on my part as of the cost of feed. As luck would have it, as this heifer grew to maturity she proved to barren and fit only for beef. As I never wanted any of the meat, it was only a disappointment for me.
We raised many pet lambs which we became fond of only to see them go away with the herd -- when they could be forced to stay with the herd -- in the fall, or find their way to the dinner table. I used to think, and still do, that a small band of sheep on the farm where they could graze on the open range nearby and in the fields in the fall and winter, would have been a good thing, especially withmy own ear mark on. My advice, however, was not sought or considered.