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Over the years, there’s been a lot of pets in my family. Now that I’m old, I’m probably on my last pet. That’s a horrible thought but true.

Six years ago, we brought Scruffy home from someplace near Raleigh. She was supposed to be a Chihuahua. When we got her home, she was so small that I could hold her in my hand. When she grew up, she ended up weighing 12 pounds and appeared to have some Pug in her. 

She’s a good dog and is loved by the family. Scruffy loves to play, go for walks, sit on laps and appears extremely happy. Being small, she doesn’t make much of a guard dog but barks loudly whenever anyone approaches the house or knocks on the door.

Growing up, my family always had a dog and a cat. My last cat, Puddin, died about a year ago at 16 years of age. In my opinion, a perfect cat, but other people’s opinion might differ.

As a kid, we seemed to go through cats on a regular basis. They were all named Pepper. We eventually reached Pepper No. 6 and lost count.  

Most of them would bring something home. One of the Peppers, a Manx cat, brought home a large rabbit. He tore a hole in the screen door to get the rabbit in the house. He also reached into a hot pot one time and pulled out a turkey leg. Unfortunately, Pepper got run over by a car and lived less than two years. Peppers mostly got hit by cars or disappeared. No problem, we just got another Pepper. 

I think that most people believe dogs are smarter than cats. They definitely behave better and mostly do what you want. My cat Puddin was smart. He recognized and would respond to about 20-25 words when he wanted to. In other words, Puddin was going to do what he wanted to; he was the boss.

I prefer a dog as a pet but a cat sure does keep the mice away. They’re just nicer. All our dogs behaved except the one that bit the neighbor’s kid on the nose. Thank God there wasn’t much damage.

I believe it’s important for a kid to have a pet. It teaches them how to care and love their pet. A good dog will follow their owner anywhere.

Several years ago, when I had prostate cancer, people would bring pets to the cancer center that the patients loved to pet. It’s amazing what a calming effect that pets can have on people. I hope they still have pets at the cancer center. The patients definitely appreciated them.

Many people might disagree with me but I think old people should have a pet. Many old people live alone and don’t see many people. A pet can easily develop into a best friend for the old person.

Unless an old person travels a lot, I highly recommend they own a pet. I believe it will improve their quality of life during their senior years.  Scruffy may be a half breed mutt, but I sure do love that dog.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.