Squirrels, rats, and alligators: A look back at past pets

Since the beginning of time, pets have held a special place in people's lives. From the commonplace to the exotic, animals have been a big part of Jefferson County's history.
Some of the county's pets were predictable. For example, in the 20th century, as local lands began to turn into quail plantations and hunting reserves, there were a lot of bird dogs. A particularly fine specimen of this type of pet could be found at his B&B Cafe in downtown Monticello in the 1920s.
If you're looking for a local place to enjoy a fish dinner, B & B Café is the place to be. Fresh oysters and a “regular dinner” were served daily. When dining there, customers would have noticed a beautiful brown and white bird dog. She was a large pointer and she weighed about 65 pounds. A favorite of his owner, this dog enjoyed the best of both worlds, being able to go hunting with him in the morning and cleaning up table scraps at the cafe in the evening. But one day in September 1926, the dog suddenly wandered off. Desperate to find her, her owner placed an ad for her in the Monticello News, requesting information on her whereabouts and even offering a bounty for her if she returned. . The ad appears to have had the desired effect as it only ran once. By the following week, the brown-and-white pointer was back at her place at the B&B cafe, and we can assume she was diligently cleaning the plates after the guests had finished their meals.
Dogs were popular pets in Monticello, with a wide variety of breeds roaming the streets and basking in the sun on their owners' balconies. The entire county was concerned about the health of dogs, and when a rabid dog showed up in town in December 1937, the city took immediate action. Mayor Richard Simpson urged everyone to protect their pets. “If you have a precious dog, please keep it off the roads while this madness continues,” he implored in a front-page article in a local newspaper. Mr Simpson also assured residents: “We ask the police to be very careful in this matter.”
However, not all pets are canines or cats. Some residents preferred less traditional animals. Lamar Sledge (later a county sheriff) had many pets as a child in the early 1900s. His menagerie included (among other things) two rabbits and his one small opossum. Lamar is so proud of his pet that he posed for a photo with him wearing his Sunday best. Suit coats, ties, and possums are definitely country living at its best. (Lamar's son Jim kept a monkey while in the Philippines in 1941, continuing his family's tradition of exotic pets.)
Lamar's opossum likely stayed at home out of respect and without interfering with the neighbors. However, not all pets are so considerate. In the 1920s and 1930s, local banks seemed to be plagued by unwanted animals and pets that didn't go to school. In 1927, when the Bank of Monticello pulled up the floorboards to lay the foundation for a new vault, they discovered the carcass of a long-dead alligator hidden beneath. How it got there or how long it remained hidden under the floorboards was anyone's guess.
No one came forward to retrieve the alligator, but the same could not be said for this small dog who accompanied his owner to the bank one morning. This dog, the pet of one of his employees, decided to do a little exploration while his owner was working at his desk. Tired of his investigation, the dog looked around for a suitable place to take a nap. Finding the safe door open, he slipped inside silently and curled up in a dark, quiet corner. When the bank closed that afternoon, no one thought to check the safe for the residents before closing up shop. When the teller finished his business and locked the safe as usual, the dog was asleep, but he had no idea that something was sleeping in the pitch-black silence.
You can imagine the surprise of the employees who opened the safe when the bank reopened in the morning. When the door swung open, he was greeted with happy squeals and energetic tail wagging. The dog didn't fare too badly on his nighttime adventures, so it's likely that his owners continued to keep a close eye on him. (Hopefully the dog didn't get hungry in the middle of the night and sample the various paper products at his disposal. If he had, this little pet would have become the first dog in Monticello to be charged with grand larceny.) (Maybe it was.)
Less desirable animals also added color to the county's history. When the Boatwrights' barn flooded in 1940, Walter, Wesley, and his Boatwrights helped clean up. The three men recovered the carcasses of at least 20 rats that had died in the flood.
Bascom Grant was also a young pet owner. His pet, a tame squirrel, rode on the boy's shoulders and accompanied him everywhere. Bascom also kept alligators. He would sometimes bring crocodile eggs to town so others could share in the fun of owning these reptiles. One local housewife raised a baby crocodile in a large washing tub. (But what did she do when they went over the bathtub?)
Rats, dogs, alligators, and a possum or two thrown in. All in all, Jefferson County's pet and rodent history is certainly one filled with local color, flavor, and smell.