Meet the Loonie and Much loved inhabitants
of this domain below
In all my life, I have only been without
a pet for a few months at a time.
We are the proud adopted people of one dog ~ Butch
and two cats ~ Tabby and Smoky
I say adopted because all of our pets were "castaways"
but after great consideration
and weighing of all the pro's and con's
chose to make our house their homes.
(Honestly I don't think we ever did have a choice
in the matter, once they decide,
it doesn't matter what YOU think!)
Butch
Butch is a Yorkie/Terrier/Pomeranian cross.
He's been reading WAY too many westerns
he envisions himself a somewhat of a "Lone Ranger"
type dog. If the cats get in trouble, he bursts
out the door, galloping to the scene!
He quickly assesses the situation
and drives the offending stranger away
then guides his rescued cat safely back home
"Heigh-Ho Kitties - Away!!
I am always amazed at how small
Butch really is, because when he puffs
out his chest and starts bossing kitties around
he thinks he's a Great Dane
(and convinces all of us too!)
We call him "Big-Dog" too,
and when other people snort and laugh
we just smile, because we know
Butch has the Biggest Heart
even if he only stands as high as most cats.
In December 1998, we suspected that something was wrong
Butch started urinating on the carpet,
something you could depend on him never to do before.
He started drinking large amounts of water, and
started losing weight. He was diagnosed with Diabetes.
We tried the pills at first, but he continued to worsen.
One day he stopped eating or drinking altogether,
so I rushed him to a new vet.
Now our brave little hero has twice daily injections
of insulin, which is saving his life.
He is still full of vim and vigor,
(and the carpet pee-ing has stopped too!)
He's gained weight, and seems to be feeling better.
Please wish us luck,
we hope he is with us for a long time to come.
Sept/99-Here's an update-Butch is now blind but I swear to you, he is happy and otherwise healthy
The thing I most often say to him is "slow down!" because
he still dashes here and there, full of life! Yahoo!
Jan/2002 - Another update. Butch developed complications from his Diabetes and blindness and suddenly started acting like he was in severe pain, cringing and jumping, he would then go completely stiff and almost fall over. We couldn't stand to see him in pain, and so confused, so we did what we thought was the best thing and took him to the vet. Our vet, one of the kindest and most caring individuals I've met, met us at the clinic at 9pm, and talked to us for a long time about what we were about to do. We said our final good-byes to our dearest friend, and left with sad hearts and wet eyes. Even now, months later, it hurts to recall how it felt. I think we did the right thing, and the vet said that we had given him the gift of the last two years, where many people would have given up rather than give him the twice daily insulin injections. He made sure to tell us that even while blind and diabetic, when Butch was in for his check-ups he was a staff favorite and a great little fellow! We now have a little Butch "shrine" in the house, and have his ashes in a wee little box. We miss him a lot, but he lives on in our hearts.
Smoky
Smoky is our next oldest.
She is a beautiful Siamese princess
who escaped a sad and lonely childhood
to join our noisy clan.
At times when the noise and commotion overwhelm her
we find her atop of something in the far bedroom
cuddled up in a puddle of sunshine.
She is the undisputed "Princess" and she rules with an iron paw
She royally welcomes all visitors
with a tap on the leg and a sincere welcome speech
She has adopted Eric as her very own.
She sleeps on his pillow every night
and grooms him while he sleeps
When he is sick, nothing budges her,
and she offers comfort and care to "her" boy.
Her weakness is admiration, and she often poses
in front of windows, showing off her beauty & grace
to the neighborhood.
Tabby
Tabby is our youngest, a teenager with an Attitude
He's very much a Poppa's Boy too.
Tabby was a street kid, who found something to stay home for
when he moved in with us.
Smoky warned him right off,
she wouldn't put up with his "shenanigans"
but Butch and he hit it off right away.
They are almost the same size now
(sshh - Don't tell Butch!!)
and Tabby is a bit of a bully
but never uses his claws on his people or his pals
He has a lot of trouble understanding
why we would ever want to have showers
and when his Dad is in the shower especially
Tabby sounds the alarm, trying to gather the rescue squad
He is always so glad to see Murray emerge Live and Whole
as soon as the shower is turned off, Tabby is there
pawing open the curtains to rescue him from the water torture
He is also the only one of the three pets
who speaks our language
Of course, his first word was "Why?"
although his "why" is kind of like a "Woe is me!"
He's a pretty good kid overall
and I think he'll keep us around for a long while to come.
It's been proven that people who have pets live longer
than those who don't, sometimes as a direct
result of heroics performed by pets.
Ralston Purina's Animal Hall of Fame,
has, since 1968, honored 80 dogs
17 cats and one horse.
We've been lucky enough never to have had to
put our animals to the test, although my Mom
has always credited "Maggie" our Weimeraner
with stopping her from allowing a strange man
to use our telephone one late night, and that same week
a woman in our neighbourhood was accosted by a stranger
in her own home at night.
But then again, this was the same dog that sat on the rug
between Mom and our Minister during one of his visits
farting happily and abundantly until the poor man left
Mom was never sure that he knew it was the dog and not her
but then again, he didn't come back to find out!!
If you have a funny story about your pet
or a tale of a heroic deed
Please E-Mail me with the details. I would be proud
to feature your pet in the Kennel Tour Too!!
E-Mail Me