A Tribute of Love

April is a tough month for me. The loss of my father 29 years ago on Good Friday. The loss of our unborn daughter Rachel two years later, on Good Friday. Coming off the March birthday of my oldest sis Pat, who passed away in 2001. Columbine. Oklahoma City Bombing, Flight 370, the South Korean ferry tragedy. The list is long and painful. But today I want to make this about our furry friends.

This is a photo I love to send to Nick when he gets busy and forgets about us! I usually text him with this caption, "Nick, do you still love me?" Rose is his cat. She has terrible allergies. I often tell her, "There will be no dying on my watch!" Nick knows if something happened to Rose I would be the bravest I could be and get her the care she needed. But we have this agreement, Life is fragile. Like a feather, a shattered glass, it can change in a moment. Now I am not a hand wringer! I don't "Oh woe is me " very often. But I am realistic and I know life changes quickly.

When my best feline friend passed away March 16, 2012 I thought I would never smile again. He was the kindest cat who ever lived. He was, in a word, a gentleman. Never bit me, swatted at me or was mean to me! He was a first class fellow. I miss him so much because now I have this to contend with:

This is trouble! This is a kitten who has zero manners! Chews on everything! Bites, swats, cries! Oh I hear my mothers voice inside my head, "Don't ever have more than one pet at a time."  This one is a rebel. Ran away last week. But not brave enough to leave the yard. Thank goodness I was quicker than him because he came to the back door that evening! Hungry eh? Hahahaha.....I think the big bully robins scared him!

Oh Casey! He was a Cockapoo, my sister gave him to us as an anniversary gift! He is leading the middle down the hallway! No one could ever know what he meant to me. Made me a survivor. Lost my father and my unborn baby in an 18 month period of time. He would never, ever get on the bed, but rather put his paws on the side and watch me cry. He was the most comforting creature I knew. The day he disappeared my heart broke. I will never have a furry friend like him again. He was my friend, a very good one and people who do not love animals would never ever understand. He was not some dog! He was my heart!

He was the best groomed fellow in the world. I would give anything to know what happened to him. I have a hole in my heart where my Casey boy once lived. He has been gone since 1991. I always prayed someone kind picked him up and cared for him, he was freshly groomed and looked like a million dollars!

Oh Bandito, this tiny rat terrier is Jeremy's best buddy. He will turn 13 on April 29th. He is getting a little dim sighted but his hearing is still impeccable. He can hear Jeremy's car coming into the driveway. He once ate an entire Advent Calendar filled with milk chocolate! My grandson Andrew's other grandparents sent it to him and when he went off to school, he left it on the table. Well, a rat terrier is called "rat" for a reason! They can climb and scale high places! Fortunately he only spent several days soiling the backyard!

If you know me very well, you know I am primarily very cold blooded. Not like a killer, hee hee, but blood curdling cold and I often need to crank up the electric blanket to get warm. My hubby is the warmest bodied human alive! Although he keeps me warm at night I received this pretty black and white angel shawl from my grandson Colton at Christmas. Bandit and the kitten try to steal it from each other. Doesn't he look peaceful and content? He is a well loved little dog.

Ok, I know, Easter is past but Tinkerbell was rocking the Easter bunny with her sweet bunny ears! The girl was sitting inside an Easter basket. Oh the stories I could share. The worst thing about Tink was she was a known criminal with a record! The authorities made our middle Rebekah get her a chip implant. She was picked up three times for breaking the law and running away! The girl was a heart stealer. She loved Rebekah more than she loved anyone ever. She was a rescue. She lived with us for 14 years and passed away very quickly. We should have called her "Gypsy". She loved to roam. I started this blog when she became ill. They told us liver disease. My goodness the girl never had a drink in her entire life! She will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of each phamily member here.

This is Spats. He belonged to my hubby. He was a gift from his grandfather and my hubby adored his grandfather. He named him Spats because he had white feet like the shoes, called spats! His mother was a full blooded black lab show dog. She was slumming at the farm one summer and oops, puppies, they all died except Spats and his brother Bubba. Bubba was not given the luxury of a long, wonderful life like this fellow.Oh the stories, he rode shotgun with my hubby and yes, I sat behind him! He was like a real person. The day he passed away is the day my honey's heart broke and he has never wanted his own pet again!

Youth and age. Even furry fellows get old. Our daughter Rebekah, who was a thumb sucker, could sing to him while chewing on her thumb. She adored him and he adored her. To tell you how gentle he was, our son Jeremy, was learning to walk. I was gone for two minutes, in the other room and he found a pencil which he tried to insert in poor Spat's derriere! The poor guy had a look on his face like "Oh this is going to hurt isn't it?" Fortunately I leapt off the stairs and snatched that pencil  away! The little fellow was always grateful for that save!

Oh Shadow! Silly silly fellow.  He was a rebellious gypsy at heart. Here he loved doing the cha cha with Rebekah. When he was outside in the large kennel  he killed many a bird and a squirrel once! They had all come to mock Spats in his old age, as he was a birder. He could snatch them up fastest then they could fly away but when he got old they knew it and taunted him. Well, one day after his untimely death, we got Shadow. He was in the kennel and boom! Bird karma! Squirrel karma! Shadow taught them all a hard lesson in life, do not mess with a young pup! Unfortunately, he loved to run and splash in the lake behind our old town home. He died trying to cross the road one night. He is the only pet we had that I dreamed about. He died the year my sister Pat and my mother passed away. It was 2001. It was not a very good year. I am not a good swimmer and often shy away from deep water. Shadow loved to run in the lake and splash around, probably scaring geese and birds in the process too! When I lost my sister and my mother 9 months apart I prayed I would have a dream. I dreamed of Shadow.  I dreamed he jumped into the deepest part of the lake and the sun was shining on him! As he emerged from the water he looked up at me as if to say that all was well! I never forgot that dream.

If you own a cat you probably don't have bathroom privacy anymore!

Hahaha! Cats and dogs. At our house, they help each other!

Now I want to conclude this by  mentioning some dear hearts I know that lost their pets recently:

Anna in Michigan and the loss of  "Rocky", a beautiful boxer.

Rob in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and the loss of "Chunk", a beautiful rescue Greyhound.

Sheri in Thornton and the loss of "Foxie", a sweet little rat terrier. She was 17.

Annmarie in Carthage, NY and the loss of her hairless cat smeegles.

I am sorry I was so long but once I start on the phamily pets, look out! I still have more to share. Another Tuesday.

New American Standard Bible
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.