2016年3月11日金曜日 - 
Jason: Pets and Christmas vacation 2015
I recently went home for Christmas and New
Year's, and while I enjoyed seeing friends and family, being around my mom's pets was a big highlight for me. I would love to get a cat here
in Japan, but unfortunately my apartment building has a no pets policy, so I
have to wait until I go home to be around animals.
Over the years, my mother has had various
dogs and cats, a bird dog named Katie, a tomcat named Tippsy, a black lab named Dixie, a German
shepherd/chow mix named Odie, a Maine
coon named Callie, and a tabby cat
named Two-Socks. Currently, she has two black cats, a golden retriever and two
cows. The two black cats she got as kittens about five years ago, a brother and
sister named Pepper and Kuro. Pepper is a large, muscular
cat, about eight kilograms, but he's a total softie.
He craves attention, and any time my mom
sits down he jumps into her lap. His sister, Kuro, was the runt of the litter and as a result tends to be skittish around new people, but once she warms up to you she will sit by your side waiting
for you to give her a treat.
Three years ago, my mom got Jessie, a golden retriever. Being so young, she has tons of energy and loves to be outside, playing fetch or being around the other dogs in the area. A very strange thing she likes doing is chasing the red dot of a laser pointer. Most people think only cats do this, but many animals will do this. I've even seen fish do it!
Three years ago, my mom got Jessie, a golden retriever. Being so young, she has tons of energy and loves to be outside, playing fetch or being around the other dogs in the area. A very strange thing she likes doing is chasing the red dot of a laser pointer. Most people think only cats do this, but many animals will do this. I've even seen fish do it!
The most unusual
pets my mom has are cows. Over the years she and her husband would get ten to
fifteen cows and breed them, and after
the calves were born they would sell them
at market. One year, one of the cows they bought was pregnant without them
knowing, so my mom was quite surprised to see a calf in the field! She named
the cow Miss Mildred, after an old friend of hers. My mom decided to keep her,
and when she was old enough they bred her,
naming the calf Miss Millie. When Miss Millie was old enough, they bred her,
and just last year she gave birth to Miss Maybeline. Unfortunately, Miss
Mildred died from old age about five years ago, but her family line lives on in her daughter and
granddaughter.
being around ： そばにいる
highlight ： 最も興味のあること
a bird dog ： 鳥猟用猟犬
a tomcat ： オス猫
lab ： ラブラドール
German shepard/chow mix ： ジャーマンシェパードとチャウチャウの雑種
maine coon ： メインクーンという種類の猫
a tabby cat ： トラ猫
muscular ： ムキムキの
softie ： 弱虫
craves ： ほしがる
lap ： スカートなどの膝の上
runt of the litter ： ちびっ子
skittish around ： ～に物おじする
warms up ： 心を開く
treat ： おやつ
fetch ： 物を取ってくる
laser pointer ： レーザーポインター
unusual ： 珍しい
breed ： 繁殖
calves ： 子牛（calf）の複数形
family line ： 血統