Jezebel
As I've said before, adopting a pet is perhaps the most masochistic thing we humans can do to ourselves. We develop affection, friendship, and unconditional love for our companion animals, all with the knowledge that we will be completely bereft and broken-hearted when we (inevitably) outlive them. But the upside of that total buzzkill (sorry) is that those of us who grew up alongside animals are lucky to have experienced those emotions; through them, we were given the tools to cope with love and loss, specifically, the ability to understand that just because loved ones are out of our lives, the impacts they made remain. So it goes with this month's Past Fashion feature, which focuses on pictures of Jezebel readers and their childhood pets and is jam-packed with warm, fuzzy feelings. (Someone had a kitten named Jezebel! Some of you had farm animals! One girl was lucky enough to have a monkey!) A gallery of the kids and their cute critters, after the jump.
(Click any picture to begin the gallery or enlarge image; if you're having trouble seeing all the pics or want to see them in an entire gallery form, click here.)
Comments
MiseAimee: Had you killed Henry...he doesn't look so hot.
Confidential to Muriel Mercurial: I ate the dog food, too.
I want to throw you all in a big pile of AWWWWW and schnorrggle you indefinitely.
LADYSKITTLEHATTINGTON YOU IZ A CUTE BABY!
And Oooohyeaaah that kitten is adorable! like a poster kitten even! i think i had him on my cuddlie cuties folder in my trapper keeper.
Gah. This is something I forgot to do. Sneakers and I had a great beauty shot from '86 that would have fit perfectly.
This is awesome!
Cam/Ron, was Caleb a Ridgeback?
I want to hug you all so bad.
My picture never makes it.
:(
AWWWWWW!
(still pissed I couldn't find my pics of me and my dogs Kenatta and Precious)
Oh my god, so much nom noms. I wish I could have raided my parents photos and sent in one of my own.
Sigh. I want a dog. So bad.
These were so adorable, I actually got choked up. I can't help it, I am pregnant and my hormones are out of control.
@layladylan: I know, this made me want to move to a farm and have butt-loads of babies.
@KimberleeJ: Did you check the second page of photos? Click the link above to take you to the gallery layout, and then you'll see a link to a second page.
Awww! In one with the cat and the baby in the bassinet is too cute!
I love Jezzie picture posts!
I lurve that 1980's tint that so many of the pictures have!
And that weimeraner (sp?) in the snow is gorgeous and knows it!
Too cute everybody!
Those photos were incredible, as always!
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that as a young one, liked to try and nom nom on their family cat ... as well as trying to carry around and love on the (very patient) pets!
Lisa And Mali! Oh my god, he could have eaten you! What an awesome picture!
I'm mad at myself for not sending one in this time. Ah, well, there's always next time.
Toubab had a chimp!? OMG the jealousy...
@Archetype: Seriously! Oh and by the way your pic was SO cute.
@layladylan: I got choked up too. Childhood pets have that effect on me.
Hope R. of Rhode Island, what kind of dog is that? My parents used to have one just like it. She was a mutt. Scruffy terriers FTW!
Though I also love Julia D. and Sir Oliver. That one kind of made me want to cry because it's so fucking cute and I'm premenstrual.
I want a pup-ah. Badly.
Dear Acoleslaw,
we totally had the same footie pjs with winnie the pooh on them as children.
Anybody else just waiting to recognize some long lost childhood friend in one of these pictures?
@BeAgrestic: I know, and then I started thinking about how someday my (unborn) daughter will be looking back at pictures of herself with my current dog, and I just got all weepy. I got nostalgic for something that has not even happened yet!
Oh Hfree! You had a border collie like my sweet Shadow dog. Precious baby, sweet pup.
@LucyRed:
I know. I'm eternally jealous of Toubab.
My pup's name is Bridget too! (Of course she isn't much of a pup anymore, she's like 18) She's a black, mixed terrier that we found at a shelter. When she passes (please don't let that be anytime soon...) my mom and I are going to a small dog rescue to adopt some more little dogs. She's got the names all picked out. After reading this blog, I've called dibs on Jezebel.
Lots of bebbeh/animal nomming in this makes me really happy and giddy.
After looking at all the cute tabby kittehs, I wish I had pics of my old Mogsy for this week.
eeeee, puppies!
I miss mine :(
@LoSpaz: Yeah I checked. It was me on a pony, too. Darn.
Maybe next month!
@ekaterinaballerina: It slightly weirds me out that there are doggehs actually named after me. I thought Bridget was too human for dogs.
aaaaah stacyinbean! you had a schnauzer too!
*sniff* i miss my Pepper now. sigh.
love puppy pictures, though they always make me sad since I can't have one now.
holy cow - how do I get a chimp?!?! how awesome is that!?!?
Oh snap! Too fun and so cute. And so many good pet names!! I really miss my cat. But really do love the one I have now.
@LucyRed: Damn, you have a good eye. Yep, he was a Ridgeback.
A lot of these pets were good sports! Especially Henry being held by his neck, he's like 'yeah, I let her hold me like this, I know she loves me.'
All adorable!
@LadyNo: Absolutely! I did double-takes on a couple.
You're all so cute! Thanks for sending in photos.
Lisa? With the ginourmous Mali? Who almost blocks you out of the picture? You saved my Monday. Thank you.
I wish I could send in a childhood picture, but I'm naked in just about every. single. one. Like, until I hit 12. Don't want Jezebel ending up on under Federal surveillance.
The baby and the meezer looking out the screen door made me gasp. I want a calender of those two.
This makes me sad because last fall my dog, Prissy (yep that's her name), had to be put asleep. We had her for 18 YEARS! I can't even remember a time before her. She totally lived up her name, in case you were wondering.
toubab - now the name makes sense. Let me guess you grew up/ spent time in a french speaking african nation?
oh my. everyone is such the cuteness with the cuddly-wuddlies. ew, i'm gonna go into a diabetic coma from my comments. srsly, everyone and their pets are super cute!
These totally made my day!
Is it weird that this slideshow made me want to have kids, like now?
@layladylan: Thanks :-)
So, so, so, so cute.
(I may or may not have a senior photo with the family cat. Anyone else do the same with their pets?)
@ineffable.me: I had the exact same reaction. Dang Lady S. you were adorbs!
@badmutha: Bell was awesome. She was acutally a border collie/sheltie mix, so she was a little smaller than a border collie.
I want to post some horse pics too, but there weren't any with me and the horse's face. I also wanted to post the pic of me with UGA IV, but he obviously wasn't mine. . .
@winnie the pooh: I had a Sneakers too! He is still to this day the best pet I've ever had. He caught teh cat AIDS and died when we were both 16. RIP Sneaks.
Hey FancyT, is Tasha a corgi? She adorbs!
@hfree: Ahhh, I was offered the chance to pose with UGA (don't know which one), and I was like, who? Now I wish I had done it!