As you can see, I was quite young when we got Ping, a registered
Siamese cat who grew up to be the toughest tom in town despite his breed. Ping was a burly, dark Siamese
cat with a real patient streak (necessary with young girls who did dress him in doll clothes and put
him in a baby carriage, poor cat. He passed away when I was 10 years old. 
Over here on the right is Missy, Ping's daughter and another
of my cats from childhood. Missy had a strange personality: she ate polyester, climbed valances and was still
very dear to me despite that. Her Siamese colouring was exquisite: I wish I had a colour photo to share!
Inki was my first dog. Here we are together
the day we brought him home. A border collie who came
from farm stock, he was a wonderful companion for my growing years. Inki had boundless
sources of energy even as a pup, and, of course, a very cute way about him. So the dog
who was supposed to be an outdoors pet and live outside in a well appointed dog crate
instead became a housedog who wrapped my whole family around one paw.
Here Inki is at about age four or so. By this point I was a teenager and had gotten into the habit of exercising him via bike-walks. We'd go for two miles before he began to flag a bit, racing on the grassy verge while I pedaled my ten-speed along the broad avenues of our neighborhood. Up until his death at 13 years, he remained a remarkably active and happy dog, only having some arthritis that troubled him the last two winters.
Of course, like most girls I was horse-mad from the word go. By the time I was in my teens I'd worn my parents down sufficiently that I had regular riding lessons and even got a horse of my own. Here we are together, jumping in the schooling ring at Foxton Farms, where I learned to ride. Pepper, or Sergeant Pepper as he was registered, was a 16.3 hand bay thoroughbred gelding. He was rather nervous and excitable in temperament and had been neglected by a previous owner. But for the four years we were together, we had marvelous fun. I didn't win any blue ribbons with Pepper, but he was a wonderful friend.