It was a ferret. I forget it's name. All we remember about the ferret was how badly it smelled. Mostly, we remember the smell because of our mom.
(WARNING: Beginning of paragraph teasing Mom. Mom is a good sport.)
Mom has the nose of a bloodhound. This comes in very handy if there's a single spore of mold in the closet that needs to die, or something's burning in the oven, or there's a gas leak. She can also smell fear in restaurant wait staff and members of various service industries. So, thirty years later, she still talks about that ferret and its odor.
I have to admit, though, that we all remember that smell. In a classroom of funky middle-schoolers, nobody could tell the difference between the critter and all the kids...but in our spotless and shining home, he sort of stood out.
Fast forward to spring break 2012. Last week Mom's 4th-grade grandson informed me that we "won" Puff and Howie, the two class lizards (bearded dragons, to be precise), as our guests for the holiday week.
They spend most of the day snuggled up like this. They're rather large; Howie's tail alone is 11" long. I can't detect a smell on them, but the box of wiggling, writhing mealworms they eat has quite a funk.
We showed them a DVD about lizards; Howie became agitated and pooped on the cushion.
Puff's belly extends out to either side...what would a cardiologist say about that?
I'm going to start Howie doing crunches, though.
I'm considering inviting my parents for Easter dinner, but I know Mom won't abide the lizards' table manners. They eat their mealworms with their mouths wide open.
6 comments:
Oh my word! You let them loose in your house!!!!! You are a super mom! The summer I won our science class frogs and lizard is one that I will never forget--nor will my Mom. I let the lizard loose in her bathroom after Mom got out of the shower--just for fun--I still have ringing in my ears. Also, the crickets we fed to the lizard climbed the heat lamp cord, bred in my mom's underwear drawer and jumped out at her one morning at 5 AM while she dressed for work. Yeah, I deserve every problem my kids give me : ) How does the poop on the couch smell?
Also, it's no wonder your mom and my grandma were able to live in the same house : )
OH. MY. GOODNESS. I would have left home for spring break the day I found out those things were coming to my house. Just "see ya!" and I would be gone. So, I think you're pretty brave and awesome for letting them in the house, much less out of their cage in the house!! I also have a freakishly strong sniffer. Which is really, really weird because I have had sinus issues my whole life long.
Also in the 80's, little Andy got to bring home the class gerbil and her cute little fuzzy baby. After a few hours of the baby laying very still, Dad and Mom had to explain the unfortunate outcome of the little guy. Thankfully the teacher was understanding! Our Mother also has that keen sense of smell, so having the gerbil in the house went over similarly to your mom and the ferret.
Good for you for welcoming the lizards into your home. Don't know if it would be the same story here!
Will you promise me that the fragrance of roasting lamb will overpower the "fragrance" of the dragons?
I love the picture of them watching TV. I'm not a lizard fan but I do have four growing chickens hanging out in my living room and I can tell you the funk over here is getting a bit ripe.
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