The People Behind Katy's Things

Hello!  We thought maybe you might like to know a little about us.  We're the Hendersons, Linda and Don.  No, we aren't related to Harry from the movie "Harry and the Hendersons."  Our youngest son did think he would make a good pet, however. 

We had four wonderful children, 3 sons and finally a daughter.  Her nickname was "That's It!"  But you know how that is.  Seems like we always had neighborhood kids, school mates, cousins and a few we weren't really sure where they came from.

They played games with each other and played with the animals and ate with us and just hung out.  There were over-nighters and they were included on many family outings to the beach, the mountains, wherever, as well.  One time there were so many kids dancing in the living room we were sure the floor was going to collapse! 

A Brazilian boy, two German girls, a German boy and a Japanese girl lived with us as exchange students.  We learned a lot from them and did our best to show them about life in America.  We are still in touch with them.

And lots of dogs of varying sizes, colors and descriptions.  We took one, a miniature schnauzer, to Italy with us when Don was in the air force.  She even learned to bark in Italian!  Dogs, like kids, certainly have their own personalities, don't they?  Except for one thing they all have in common--they all think they're people! 

Cats?  You bet.  Almost too many to mention but all with their own personalities and, like our dogs, all loved and cared for.  One cat would even catch a bell, bring it back and drop it in our hand.  Then he poised himself for the next throw.  He would do this over and over until he was too pooped to run.

There were the usual collection of gerbils, exotic fish, white mice, koi, gold fish and hamsters.  Oh yes, and one critter we weren't sure of that one of our sons brought home from school to keep for the summer.  Of course, the gerbils frequently escaped--they are supposed to, aren't they? 

One day a tortoise found us.  So we made him part of our family while we advertised for it's owner.  It seems he (she?) had traveled for about two miles.  At a top speed of about one half a mile an hour that took a while.  The owner had had it for several years and was very happy to get it back.

There were deer, pheasants, peacocks, raccoons a-plenty, quail, ducks, opossum, fox and skunks.  Even had a sighting of a coyote.  Our golden retriever loved to chase the skunks.  Yes, he got sprayed but it didn't seem to bother him.  He was definitely an outside dog during those episodes. 

Our beagle tried to sniff a duck in the manner that dogs sniff other dogs.  The duck turned around and bit him on the nose and sent him yelping and running at high speed.  The only thing damaged was his pride.  The raccoons just sauntered in and ate the cat's food while the cats sat a respectable distance away waiting their turn, neither bothering the other.

Well, the stories go on and on but the memories clearly tell us...

Kids and Pets Just Go Together

PS.  Tell us your favorite kids stories and we'll put them on a special page on our site.