There aren’t many animals in my life these days. When I was kid, we always had pets. My parents adopted Freddie, a poodle-schnauzer mix, just before they got pregnant with me. After Freddie was hit by a car, we got Toasty, a sweet dog of unknown parentage. A black and white cat that accidentally ended up with the name Dinky joined the family when I was 13.

After Toasty died in 1995, we picked out Bonnie at the Troutdale animal shelter. She was a boarder collie/blue heeler mix and I still miss her. When I was in college, my parents picked up Uma, a massive calico, at a rest stop in Umatilla. Later, Raina started traveling for a living and her cat Woody moved in with my parents. These days, my parents have Little Pearl, a two-year-old cat they adopted a year ago when Woody’s absence became too much.

I am a pet person living in a building that doesn’t allow animals of any kind. Seeing all the sweet bunnies at the Farm Show reminded me how much I miss co-existing and caring for a little, furry creature.