Third Generation Pet Keeping

As I have said before I grew up among a family of pet lovers. My Grandmother started the business some years before the second world war. She was quite a busy woman having had nine children and all that that entails. The business was really started as a feed merchants for the many people who kept the odd chicken in their back garden. Even now I have old customers coming in telling me they remember their parents visiting the shop for supplies. The shop evolved and gradually started selling food for dogs and cats and now we sell all sorts of foods and accessories for the full range of pets be they furry or finned or scaled. My Grandmother (who died when I was about 9) was certainly an interesting woman, and her tale would be a complete other story, but she as far as I am aware she always had pets in the house. My twin Aunts tell me of a story about a monkey who lived with them all - yes all nine children - this monkey as far as I can tell was just another member of the family. He often escaped from the house and accompanied the twins to school. Their school mistress would often tell them to 'get that monkey our of the schoolroom and take it home immediately'. Home they would take it and it would take up residence on top of the grandfather clock where it had a basket as a bed. I believe that it also took great delight in throwing various bits of fruit down onto the heads of visitors. The bigger the hat the better! It would also chitter at them with that strange sort of monkey talk as though it was saying some rather rude words but only the monkey could understand. My Grandmothers house always sounded like fun, and even now from my faint memories I can see her reading me Welsh fairy stories. She had a wonderful cuddle and in my minds eye was just every ones ideal Granny. I feel very sad that I did not know her for longer. All my cousins seem to remember her with great affection. She had time for all 21 of her Grandchildren. Not to be frogotten is my Grandfather who also ran another business totally unrelated to pets. He must have worked hard to keep his family, but as a child I knew nothing if this. He too is 'another story'. - They certainly knew how to live in those days! But again my lasting memory of him is the typical Grandad. Winding his grandfather clock every day, checking his watch that hung on a chain from his waistcoat and smell of humbugs which he dished out to his Grandchildren. A typical memory. But he hid so many secrets.