The "Life's Lessons Through Pets" Story

My friend, "Horny" the horned toad.

It was an ordinary day.  Passing through center city Lancaster on West King Street and saw that the front of one of my all-time favorite stores in the city was up for sale.  Hasn't been the first time that if has been sold in the past 30 or so years.  Today I even noticed that the large display window and the door are covered with bars.  Sign of the times on inter-city stores, I guess.  Sixty years ago Antes Pet Store, in the second block of West King Street, was a favorite stopping point.  Some Saturday mornings I would ride with my dad to Meiskey's Jewelry Store where he worked.  My one and only reason to go with him was to walk the half-block east on King Street to Antes to visit with the animals.  They carried just about every animal that a young boy could hope for.  Dogs, cats, fish, white mice, hamsters, guinea pigs and naturally horned toads.  The couple who ran the store, I'm assuming it was the Antes, were just the nicest people.  I questioned them about all the animals and at times they would let me take the animals from their cages and hold them.  At noon I knew it was time to trek back up King Street for my ride home with my dad.  Every now and again dad would tell me he would meet me at noon at the store and I could pick out a new animal to take home.  I can still remember the white mice that my dad bought me that would climb up the two foot fire engine ladder on my toy firetruck into my hand.  The mice would also crawl in one shirt sleeve, across my body, and emerge from the other shirt sleeve.  (You know this is too cool for me to ever make up a story like this)  But, I believe my all-time favorite pet from Antes had to be the horned toad.  About eight inches in length with a head and scales that made him look as if he was right out of a monster movie.  Even used by large magnifying glass to hold in front of his head to try and scare my friends.  Mom wouldn't even look at him and really gave it to dad for letting me get him.  I would let him roan free in my room and have a good time trying to catch him when it was time to put him back in the cage.  Loved lettuce and spinach as well as the pellets that we got for him at Antes.  I have many good memories of all my pets, but don't remember what ever became of them.  I assume they died or maybe my mom found a way for them to conveniently escape.  As I was writing this story I was talking to my wife about Antes and she too remembers all the good times she had at the store.  When she was in high school her parents bought her a Chihuahua puppy as a pet.  Not sure if her mom and dad bought it at Antes, but she does remember picking out a really neat blue coat for "Buddy" at the store.  Had to take him to the store with her to see which coat he preferred.  Carol and I were both lucky that our parents allowed us to have pets, since I believe that the pets taught us many life lessons that could not have been gained any other way.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.