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While growing up in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans Louisiana, I didn’t have much. What I lacked in material things, I had in relationships and friendships I built with the people in my community. One of my most memorable and valued relationships was with my dog, Jingles. Jingles wasn’t the smartest to the fastest, but he was mine and the memories we made were priceless. Did you have a dog or a pet growing up? What are some memories you have of your pet? Share your stories about your four-legged friend!

1. Our dog Bailee Boo is golden retriever, black lab and German shepherd mix. She loves lollipops. One day, she came with us in the SUV and we had to run into the store for something and left her in the car with it running. One of the kids had bought a bunch of these natural-flavored strawberry suckers. We get back in the car and we hear this sucking noise, and I turned around and said, "Bailee" and she popped her head up from the back seat with a sucker hanging out of her mouth. She was sucking on it. It was so funny to see her with it hanging out of her mouth! She loves them. She loves Halloween because of the lollipops.

2. I got my cat, Ulrica, while I was living in Prague. I didn't have the heart to leave her behind, so when I came back to the United States, Uli came with me (the trip ended up being 24 hours long). Anyway, she is a character. I was living in Portland, and Uli would often wake me up an hour before I had to be up, so I would put her in the bathroom with her food, water and litter box. This routine didn't last long. One morning, when Uli wanted to play fetch and I had an hour to sleep, into the bathroom she went. Seven o' clock a.m. came, and I first started my coffee and then tried to open the bathroom door. Uli had locked me out! Somehow, she had pulled the drawer closest to the door open so I was unable to open the door. I was frantic and had to get in there to get ready for work. I went into the kitchen and got a knife and had to "shimmy" the drawer closed with a knife. Now, looking back, it was so funny that it happened

3. I have a shih tzu who is adorable, but none too bright! He is a major mama's boy and wants a bite of anything I have to eat. One day, I was sitting at the dining table and Tippy was sitting quietly nearby (he never begs, just drills holes in you with his eyes!), but every hair on his body was twitching! I was having a salad and knew he wouldn't eat any greens, but I had a mandarin orange in the salad yet, so I broke off a small piece of orange and tossed to him. I thought he had caught it and was eating it, but he kept sniffing around on the floor and whining. I didn't know if he wanted more or what. I called him, and he looked up at me and there was the bite of mandarin orange stuck to the fur right above his nose! He could smell it, but he couldn't find it. I nearly fell out of the chair laughing, then I grabbed the camera and took a picture. The grandkids loved it!