For my latest 'sweeps month' (May, 2015), I thought I'd start my weekly "Throwback Thursday" presentation with a couple of 'photo-ops' of some real animals, encountered in the past by members of my family...

In this first offering, my mother, Sheila Martinez took a 35mm picture of me with 'Misty', a young German shepherd that belonged to my cousin Sheryl Miller of Wantagh, New York. This 'photo-op' was taken in the late 1980s.

Many years earlier, Sheryl and her husband Stuart used to have other pets, beginning in the late 1960s with their striped tabby cat 'Tiger'. Later on, she owned other cats; but it wasn't until the late 1970s when the couple acquired their first dog - another shepherd named 'Frosty' - who had given them many years of happiness...

One quick story about 'Misty': She was still in her puppyhood, when Mom and I were taking care of her (while Sheryl and Stu went away for the weekend). We brought the dog out to the backyard for a little exercise; but we couldn't find a ball or a Frisbee for her to fetch. Finally, I'd picked up a stick (a broken part of a tree branch), showed it to 'Misty', and threw it across the yard with all my might. "Fetch!" I yelled, as 'Misty' took off...

...but instead of going after the stick, she went into 'overdrive', doing three laps around the yard - running around the tree, the barbecue, and a large rock during each lap - and finally, 'Misty' made a beeline for me, and jumped up - soiling my white T-shirt with her muddy paws, and nearly knocking me over!

I would later find a way to keep 'Misty' calm, by laying down on the living room's carpeted floor (in a submissive position), and she would lie down next to me. As a reward, I'd scratch her behind the ear or give her a 'tummy rub' (both of which she liked). I enjoy the company of dogs when they are calm and pleasant, don't you?