a white miniature poodle

Angel was my first pet. I suppose that isn’t truly fair as Nimbus was there at the same time. Angel lasted. She was actually older than I was. Because of that, my sister had great fun telling me Mom and Dad loved Angel more than me because they had her first.

Like the cobbler’s children having no shoes, Angel was more tangled than she should have been. I guess Mom and Dad were tired after grooming everyone else’s dogs that Angel was somewhat neglected. My folks used to run a dog grooming business on the side out of the garage in the summer and out of a spare bedroom in the winter.  We always had dogs around the house growing up.  I remember it cost $12.60 to have a dog groomed.  This was circa 1975.  Anyhow, Angel was always a motley mess.  I loved Angel. 

Angel broke her leg at one point. I remember she had a cast on her front leg. It was longer than her leg and she had trouble maneuvering with it.

When she had to be put down, Mom cried. She declared there would be no more pets. She was heart-broken.