Fargo, North Dakota.

This week, Tina Schell asks us to share images of our precious pets. You can read Tina’s entire challenge post here. I’ve only a couple of images of our beloved Tuffy, a Cairn Terrier we raised from a pup. At the time he was a member of our family, I wasn’t much into photography having let the hobby lapse. A couple of years ago, we were making our bi-weekly trip to Costco when we saw a man pushing a cart, gray parrot perched on his cart handle. I had to stop and grab a photo with the gentleman who obviously can’t even go shopping without his beloved bird.

The parrot was friendly to strangers as the gentleman offered to put him on my shoulder and take my picture as well. Who could resist?

In Arizona, we meet lots of people on the trail who ride. No doubt their horses are considered their pets. We met these two ladies as we explored a new hiking area for us. They were kind enough to point out interesting points along our route (all the while wondering if we were competent enough to be out on our own, I’m sure. >grin<)

The photo above is one of the few I have of Tuffy. Cairn Terriers are friendly and mischievous. Probably the most well-known of the breed is Toto, the animal star of the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. There is an urban legend that Judy Garland, a studio “star” was paid less than Toto. That’s not true, however at $125 a week, Toto, who’s real name was Terry, was paid more than the Munchkin actors who were paid $100 a week.

This week’s challenge brought back many happy memories of our 16 years with Tuffy. I am grateful for the time we had with him. He was once even a passenger in the plane I flew regularly at the time. He wasn’t impressed. >grin<

John Steiner