Story Prompt - Pets

Speaking of names - did/do you have pets? I was speaking with my friend, Robbin, today about her 2 cats that are named after Junie B. Jones characters. And it got me thinking about animals I know and love.
What about you? Pets? Their stories? I have a friend who recently lost her dog - a member of the family for years, and for her this was a cause to mourn the loss of a family member. Do you feel similarly?

I'm not a "pet friendly" person. Mostly it's because I have terrible animal allergies, anything with fur or feathers gives me terrible sneezes, rashes, and itchy eyes. And, well, I like to pick up and go, and the thought of having to find a home for a pet, doesn't suit me. But it's mostly the allergy part that separates me from most animals.

But, there are a few pets in my life - Casey was the name of the dog we had when I was growing up. I don't remember what breed she was, but I'm thinking Cocker Spaniel. She was a good dog, playful, but I didn't interact much with her. However, I do remember getting a call when I was in about 5th grade, that my mom was coming to get me from school. Casey was giving birth, and I was able to watch her give birth to several puppies. I don't remember much about her after that, except that she was hit by a car on our road and killed.
We also had a Siamese cat that we kept in our unfinished basement while we were away on vacation (my memory is sketchy here) and when we came home she was "gone."
And I can't forget Grandpa Jensen's horses - Boots, Charlie (Brown), and the Dinsdale's, Zangie.

As an adult the Knudsen family owned a beautiful black Lab we named "Paige." Our neighbors had a black lab named "Satchel," and this was our nod to their friendship. Paige was a great puppy - she was about 6 weeks when we got her. I remember taking her for a walk one summer evening and she left a trail of bloody footsteps. We thought she'd stepped in something, but upon picking her up the pads of her feet were bleeding - the path was so hot and her feet were so young and new. Another time there was a tornado in our town, Sheffield, Alabama. We had been keeping Paige, at nights, in the shed/garage. When we went to check on her she was gone. We were so worried she'd been lost in the storm. We searched and searched, finding her at our across-the-street neighbors, where they had found her and sheltered her. She loved playing in the pool with the kids - and the vet said that was just fine, a good way to keep the ticks off her (burning them off her skin was terrible). Tyler or Jenna would jump in the pool, and Paige would jump in right after her. We have family videos of this, they are a treasure.
When we moved from Alabama back to Utah, we had to leave her there rather than bring her here in the cold winter. We left her with friends, where she lived a happy and long life hunting snakes, playing in the pond, and being spoiled by her new family. We did visit once, and she remembered us, what a treat that was.

These days Scott and I are grandparents to Jax, a Golden Labradoodle, and Truth-dagger, a calico cat. Jax loves Scott, Truthie tolerates us!