Mid-Alantic Pets

Stripey! His ears were quite tall and you can see he had one grey dot on his right front paw. He was the friendliest and actually became a housecat for several weeks of harsh weather. Remarkable how well he adapted to my indoor cats, Sissy and Marilla. Unfortunately I had to have hime put to sleep due to a large mass in his intestines, He deteriorated rapidly and vet felt he would probably die during exploratory surgery, so...

I haven't named his two grey brothers as they serve to remind me that they are ferral/wild and not pets.

Hard to know what is the right thing to do for the critters we share our lives with an assume some responsibility for...no easy pat answers for sure. Cat karma can go many ways.

Stripey was a "greeter" cat and seldom failed to be there to meet me whenever in my comings and goings. And he would meow when he felt it was time to be fed or get a little treat. He allowed me to pick him up and would sit tensely on my lap. I would pet him with slightly dampened fingers, much like a momma cat would wash her kittens. One day I found his sweet spot and he actually purred!

I feel very honored that Stripey and his brothers trust me enough to let me be a bitsy part of their lives.

That big cat looks very confident ;-)

Sally -- you wrote: "The recent most used spot, the vet said, well, put a litter box there. It worked. Very luckily, it is in the utility room." But I can't do that -- it is in the middle of the dining room!!! Ugh. So I"m buying all the highly rated litter boxes. My cat won't use the automated litter boxes, sadly. It struck me as bizarre that he, an extraordinarily curious cat, wouldn't set foot in the automated one we bought (and then returned at enormous expense). I even bought a litter box attractant to get him in there -- and of course used catnip -- and even put his own used litter in there to "sweeten" the deal. He wouldn't budge.

coleup, I am sorry Stripey could not make it. Maybe you were meant to get closer to him because he needed you, or he would have suffered a long time.

happy- we had dining room issues too , I sympathize!

This is my dog Josh. He is a Lahsa with attitudes. Extremely smart, but he thinks that the world revolve around him. When we got him he had to make adjustments with the cats , that was not easy because he liked to pinch their tails. After couple weeks he was fine the cats trained him. We have one of the younger cats who is crazy about him and play with him all the time. All other cats including the ones in the yard ignore him. If I don't take him out late at night he goes and pee on the cat rug in the front of the cat box ( the cat rug is a towel and the floor is ceramic tiles )) now I solved the problem we use a baby gate upstairs so he has to wait for morning. So far so good.
Josh, potted Lucie,Lucie and Baby Boo

Hooper is a lab-chow mix. When I seen him at the humane society 7 years ago, I knew that he was the one. Extremely intelligent, EXTREMELY happy and energetic, hates the water (that is the chow in him), absolutely loves people. He is spoiled rotten to say the least. He was in a 2 dog household for the first 9 months or so when I got him and he has been in a single dog household since. He loves to play with other dogs. I have been seriously thinking of getting him a sibling to keep him company while I am at work and to work off some of that energy that he has. I, in fact, was at the humane society looking last night. Thought at first I found the right one, but as I interaced with him and as I took Hooper to interact with him, he seemed obsessed with escaping. He was friendly enough, but I seemed more interested in getting loose. I will keep looking and I am sure that I will end up with a sibling for Hooper within the next couple of weeks.

My cats were always very clean and usually wanted to go out rather than use a clean litter box. In good weather we rarely changed the box, having only to remove a few clumps occurring while we were sleeping or otherwise not available to let them out. Ric

great pictures orchid fancy!

Hooper sounds like a great dog, and it will sure be fun for both of you with a new pal!

My internet connection has been really slow for opening up the thumbnail pictures, but seems better now. I was finally able to open full view of the picture of Hooper. Got a great chuckle on realizing that he is in a Christmas outfit - antlers and ankle decorations - way too cute.

LOVE love love all the pics and stories to go with...I'll have to dig some up but here's goofy Carlee who has much more energy than IQ. DD calls her Forrest Gump

All these pics remind me of how much I love dogs. Big, small, smart, goofy, it doesn't matter... Chantell, I can just feel Carlee's personality from the expressions that you've captured in these. What a sweetie.

Winchester was the dog of my childhood. He passed while I was away at college. Border collies are only happy if they have a job to do, and me, my siblings, and the neighborhood kids became his flock of sheep to tend. His efforts to keep us herded together while we were playing still makes me grin. Imagine the groans from the other kids when he showed up during a kickball game LOL. He was in his element. I think he had a very happy life, and managed to transform my dad into a "dog person".

Aspen was the next of my dog companions, and the first of my adult life. I don't want to get into a discussion about puppy mills, they affront me on all levels. However, Aspen came from a mall pet store back in the 80's when they still sold dogs. I rarely go to malls, but I had an errand to run at Sears. The pet store was right around the corner from Sears and across from a Burger King where I was headed to get a drink. I glanced in the window and saw a row of cages with pure bred pups of varying breeds. Aspen perked up as soon as she saw me. When I walked away, she started howling. I could still hear her while I was in line at the BK. On the way out, I paused at the window and she immediately stopped the howling and perked up again. As I again went on my way, she again started howling. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew in my heart that this was a howl of despair. Despite the bigger picture issue of playing in to puppy mills, I had to rescue that pup. As many of you already know, Aspen Hilll - the name of my place in Lucketts, is in memory of Aspen. She was my constant companion during the house building years. My DG profile pic is of her as a pup and is used for the "Aspen Hill" logo.

What a great story, Terri!! Look at those eyes! No wonder you couldn't resist her.

On the other hand, most women's impulse buys are shoes, handbags, or jewelry, not dogs. LOL!

This message was edited Feb 28, 2013 8:43 PM

Wonderful story about Aspen.

Ric -- our cats are indoor cats, so no option of going outside. They're not declawed, but we are in an urban area, and also we have a lot of bird feeders....

aw Terri...It goes along with the saying that the dog picks the owner. Our puppy-momma owner said we should let the puppy pick us. We took the only puppy who stayed right on one of us instead of straying out to explore.

But for Aspen to pick you right there in the mall???? She KNEW.

I love seeing everyone's photos of their pets!
Really made me smile!

We lost one of our beloved kitties last Wednesday... Virgil, our only boy.
I am sure a couple of you remember seeing pics of our cats way back when.
He was only six, but he had CHF and it was a heartbreaking day.
We took a long time to say goodbye...
He laid on his favorite stool in the sun Wed. morning, and then I took him out on the balcony for a while.
Then hubby and I had to take him to our vet that afternoon.
She was wonderful! His respirations were coming at 50-60 per minute... it was so hard for him to breathe.
She gave him a sedative, and it slowed his breathing down so he no longer struggled for air.
Then we just held him a while until he went to sleep...
She then returned, and everything ended peacefully.
We miss him very much.

It is never easy to say goodbye to a member of the family...
This poem brought me some comfort...


If It Should Be ~ Author unknown
--------------------------------------
If it should be that I grow frail and weak,
... And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done.
For this last battle cannot be won.

You will be sad - I understand,
But then don't grief let stay your hand,
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love for me must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years,
What is to come holds no fears.
Take me where my needs they'll tend,
Only stay with me until the end.

And hold me close and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you too will see
It is a kindness you've done for me.
Although my tail it's last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.

Please do not grieve that it was you,
who had this painful thing to do.
We've been so close we two these years
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

VA_Wild_Rose, my heart goes out to you tonight. It is one of the hardest things to say good bye to a beloved pet. {{{hugs}}}

We now just have the two girls...
Skye and Remy

VA_Wild_Rose, so sorry for the passing of your cat. The poem brought tears to my eyes.

The two girl cats are beautiful. What kind of cats are they? Rag Dolls?

Oh, I am so very sorry for your loss. Our pets become such very important parts of our family and the unconditional love we receive from them is irreplaceable.

VA_Wild_Rose, I'm so sorry -- Virgil was beautiful.

sorry for your loss

Va-Wild_Rose

That Poem really touched me too. So beautifully written.

I copied it out and will send it to my Daughter in Seattle who had to put down her
beloved, aging, dog, Bear, several years ago. He was rescued from a pound had been with her for years.
She is such an animal lover.
In 1987, she got a summer job in Anchorage to watch someone's house.
She chose to drive the distance--all across the Canadian Highway, just because she was not going to put
Bear in the guts of an airplane. She camped along the way--probably a beautiful trip in the long run.
It took five days of driving to get to Anchorage.
I flew out to see her just before the house-sitting was over and we drove 5 hours to my sister's house.
who lives in Homer.

Here is Benita with her Pal--Bear in Earthquake Park.

That you for sharing the poem. It is beautiful. It keeps us loving past our sadness.

Thank you all....

Karen

(((WildRose))) 4 years or 18 or 24... it's never easy, and my heart breaks for you losing that handsome stripey boy. I hope those two girl kitties are supplying extra cuddles and purrrrs and ankle-rubs!

Thanks Jill...
They are indeed.
And no, it is never easy... no matter their age... to say goodbye to a dear loved one.
But sometimes, the letting go is the greatest love we can show them in the end.

VA Wild Rose; I lost many dogs and cats in the past 40 or so years I know the feeling . When we lost Dozzie our Jack Russel my husband and I were both devastated. he was such a good boy and had gone through so much. He had been rescued from a house fire and was badly burnt on his belly and on one side , the owners could not pay the bill so they left it to be adopted and we were the lucky people who got him. He had blue eyes and was just wonderful. After we lost him every time that I saw another dog I was in tears I missed him so much . That is when I decided to adopt Josh from the D.C. shelter He is wonderful , rarely bark, and very loving.

For the person that does not have cats because they pee, I have 5 house cats and they never make any mistakes. I rescued a feral mama cat and trained her to use the box. she is wonderful. Cat that pee may have bladder problems or anxiety.

So sorry Karen !!!!

pretty girl Gita!

orchidfancy, thanks for reminding us about the possible real health issues behind some cat pee problems!

just when i think its time to go cut stuff for soup, my shy kitty comes out for lap time and love....

my cat Baby boo who is a boy, was starting to cry and pee everywhere non stop then I realized that he had blood in his urine . I contacted the vet and sure enough he had crystals that had formed in his urinary tract and he had to urine all the time just a little at the time. The crystals were like little knives that were cutting inside of the passage . the only way to control this issue with male cats is to control their diet, using a diet for urinary tract issues and no fish of any kind since they seem to be the cause of the problem. After that we never had any more problems with him he is a very clean boy , we also keep the cat boxes real clean and it has worked for us.
Pictures of baby Boo and dozzie

I went to the Timmonium Flower and garden show today. Walked my legs off....
Pretty Ho-Hum this year. Nothing too impressive, sorry to say.
Lots of bushes and shrubs and evergreens and--waterfalls. Last year was much better....
The Theme this year was "Movies"--and I think that it was hard to personify that.

I took pictures--will post a few later. Wanted to show you soothing I have never seen.....
A stroller just for dogs! It is NOT a converted baby stroller--as the "bed" part is flat.
She said Pet Smart carries them.

What next?????? G.

I thought it was really nice last year.Sorry to hear that it isn't as nice this year. Our local Home Builders show is pretty small this year. I worked today and will again for a few hours tomorrow. Ric and I will be going down next weekend for the MD. Orchid Society Show.

Alfie assumed my spot on the lounge while I was up doing a few things. I came back and he had spread out. LOL

Holly--
Did you end up going to the garden Show at Timmonium?

What did you think? You can D-mail me if this would be off-topic.....G.

Gita we are waiting till Sunday to go as we primarily want to see the Orchid Show and the Garden Show is just a nice extra bonus. I'll let you know what we think.
I have seen those dog strollers. LOL No thank you I was thrilled when I didn't need to push the kids around in them, I am not going to start pushing my dog around now.

funny Alfie!!!!

Dogs, just love them. What great photos of Alfie.