There have been a number of pets in my life. Laddie was our black lab cross. There was a second black lab cross we cleverly named Laddie. A Samoyed named Arrow, a cocker-cross named Nicki, two different Barts, and Penny the chocolate lab. Oh, and there was Freckles the cat, all black with little flesh colored specks on its face. It was a no-brainer for that name. I even had little turtles when I was a boy, but their shells always got soft on me for some reason.

I never had any fish, hamsters, gerbils, snakes or lizards like many have now.

But the most unique pet I can recall was my Great-aunt Hazel’s “Rusty.” The statute of limitations has run out so I think I can tell the story.

On their farm north of Thief River Falls, in a small parcel of wooded area, the Jorlands came upon a fox den. There they found a small “kit” or pup with a bad leg. They figured the mother had been shot or hit by a car. So the Jorlands took him home, nursed him back to health, and for a year or so had some experiences most of us would love to have gone through.

First, foxes like the night hours. Rusty was completely domesticated and during the evening hours, while all were asleep, he loved to play ball, on the stairs, by himself. Rusty would roll the ball down the stairs, chase after it, grab it, run back up the stairs, and then do it again, for HOURS!

When Cousin Steve had Rusty stay in his room at night, the fox would often pounce on his head as though he were chasing a mouse. The poor guy never got any sleep.

Morning was Rusty’s time to go for a ride. Not in the car – he’d jump on Aunt Hazel’s dust mop as she cleaned the hardwood floors.

Rusty’s food dish was always empty, but wait – could he really be eating all that? Foxes like to hide their food for a midnight snack. He would hide food under the couch cushions and behind books. You never knew where you were going to find his hidden morsels.

Rusty often liked to hide behind the couch when company came over. Cousin Rick once draped his arm over the back the couch and the fox took a bite out of him. Rick showed me the scar. Can you imagine, “Hey Rick, how did you get that scar?” “Got bit by a fox.” “What was her name?” “No, fox – red fur with the long bushy tail!”

“Sly as a fox” is such a true statement. Foxes and loud noises don’t mix; they hate it when a bell rings, such as the phone. The family once went out for the evening, and when they returned they found the phone off the hook with “grooves” in the receiver. Rusty, that sly little fox, knew from watching the family that if you picked up the phone it would stop ringing.

Sadly, they had only a year with Rusty; it was mating season and he slipped his collar while tied up outside, and a local farmer shot him. The poor man was heartbroken when he found out it was someone’s pet.

I did see a couple of photos of this beautiful and intelligent creature. In one he was lying on the bed with that beautiful tail spread out on the quilt. In another he was eating his favorite food in front of the Christmas tree….peanuts!

The family lost a good friend but then Steve quickly found another pet. Sitting on his shoulder, he’s hand feeding a robin. “How did you get him to do that, Steve?’ “Oh, he’s blind and needed a little help with his food, I guess.”

I’d love to hear about your unusual pets. Drop me an email! bob.harris@mwcradio.com.