Thursday, September 21, 2023

Happy 3rd Adoption Day Roary!! #ThankfulThursday

 It is so hard to believe that our super intelligent boy who was formerly named "Felix" (a name I think I should have kept based on his personality), is with us THREE years!



Roary is extremely bright, he LOVES to figure things out. He studies everything carefully. He opens cupboards with ease and often will sit and hide in them. 

He is a "people" cat. He greets anyone and everyone who enters our home (except for kids). With kids he will keep his distance studying them, and eventually he will approach them as long as he isn't being chased.


The biggest change in Roary this year is that he is FINALLY sitting on my lap!!! It took nearly 3 years but he now will sit with me most evenings. 

This came about after his surgery. I believe he noticed how I barely left him during his recovery and we began a nightly ritual called "Brush, brush" where I would brush his fur near his neck when he was wearing the "cone of shame". Roary LOVES being brushed! That tradition has continued and it has been the main way that Roary and I have finally bonded.

Roary is a loving, sweet and patient kitty who puts up with a lot from a certain woofie who also resides here!

HAPPY 3RD ADOPTION DAY "ROARY BOY!!"

We all love you so much and are so happy you are part of our family!

Mom, Dad and Levi

xoxo




Tuesday, September 19, 2023

A Belated Birthday and Bark/Meow Like a Pirate Day!

 Ahoy Mateys!!!



'tis "Gorton Zayne alias "Ruthless Toes"  'n I 'ave a bone t' pick!! Me THIRD BIRTHDAY was this past Sunday, September 17th 'n me Mom NE'ER BLOGGED ABOUT IT!! Why? 'cause she 'n Cap'n went t' the football game!! Where was I? I was BOARDIN' at me daycare!! THE NERVE!!

Thankfully me hearties at Canine College made sure that I had a most fantastic time!! They gave me tons o' kisses 'n they took photos o' me!




I had the BEST time gettin' humped by me new scallywag Mocha. This scallywag was literally all o'er me every single chance he got! At first I was mighty angry, but then...I kinda grew t' like it 'n Mocha 'n I had become fast mateys by the time I left t' go home on Sunday. Canine College even mentioned Mocha on me boardin' report card!



I 'ave t' say when Mom 'n Cap'n came t' pick me up aft the football game, Mom was showerin' me wit' kisses 'n kept singin' happy birthday t' me! She made me me fav'rit cheese stuffed bone TWO DAYS IN A ROW 'n yesterday she made me a HAMBURGER!!

I guess feelin' guilty be a GOOD thing 'cause me birthday celebration be goin' on 'n on!!! I know Mom 'n Cap'n love me sooo much that I guess I can cut 'em some slack since the Lions game fell on me birthday this year, it's worth it if me birthday celebration continues!



Well scallywags, I be off t' continue celebratin' me third birthday! Ye 'ave a great Bark/Meow like a Pirate Day 'n enjoy the Pirate photo that Angel Puddy made fer Angel Cody many years ago! Love ye hearties!


"International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirateAn observer of this holiday would greet friends not with "Hello, everyone!" but with "Ahoy, maties!" or "Ahoy, me hearties!" The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy." (from WikiPedia)




Monday, August 28, 2023

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day 2023, My Babies


 ABOUT RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY:


Deb Barnes founded Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day (RBRD) in 2015 as a special day for pet guardians to honor the memory of those beloved pets in their life they have loved and lost, but never forgotten – whether fur, fin, feathers, scales or something else. It’s held every year on August 28, in honor of the day Deb had to say goodbye to her  precious Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, the meow author of Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond.  




My "Baby Bobo"




The first to make his way over the Bridge was my precious Angel Bobo. I had found Bobo late in 1989 during a blizzard in Ohio. He was approximately 6 months old at the time. I was blessed to have him in my life for 18 years. Bobo was truly MY cat. He hated other cats, wasn't a fan of dogs (except for one Sheltie who lived near us in Ohio, that Sheltie was named Kelly and they used to eat grass together when Bobo would go outside on his leash.).



 Bobo was the first kitty I had ever share my life. We had a bond that I thought would never ever be as intense as it was, until:

My Cody

 

My Cody, My Codester, my precious love bug, my cuddle bug, my shadow, my heart, my soul. My "Velcro kitty". When Cody was adopted July of 2007 (two weeks after my Bobo passed), I never, ever thought that I would have a bond like that again. My Cody, the day I adopted him he crawled up my chest at Petco and wouldn't let go. From that day on until his tragic, unexpected death in 2020, he DID NOT LET GO. My chicken loving, catnip loving, Sheltie-loving cuddle bug only wanted to be loved from the moment we laid eyes on each other.

Cody was the reason that this blog began. He was my "co-pilot", my sidekick. Our blog started October of 2009 and to honor his memory, while the name of the blog has changed, the link never, ever will.



Cody gave me more happiness, love and yes, heartbreak than I could ever imagine. My precious boy, I miss you beyond words.

I used to love when Cody played with certain toys from kittenhood on, he would do a somersault while he played. It was the cutest ever. Cody was a "people cat". Anyone who entered our home, in his mind, was his friend.





He spent every single night on the armrest of the couch next to me while I watched TV. To this day, that armrest remains empty. 

When he wasn't sitting with, or following me, or playing with his brother, Cody loved nothing more than to spend time in his cherished cat tree.



I will be forever grateful for Cody's cat tree as well as his custom-made urn, where Cody is at rest. He gets to spend eternity in his favorite spot in the world, his cat tree.

My Dakota, My First Sheltie



Believe it or not, when Dakota joined our family in October of 2007, while I loved him, it took us a few years for us to truly form the deep bond that we had.

Daddy was the one who used to take Dakota to the Vet and to grooming, so he bonded with him earlier than I did. While I was CRAZY about Dakota, our bond deep bond began probably when he was about two years old. From that time on, Dakota and I were deeply bonded. So much so that he had an uncanny sense of understanding my emotions, coming to me to give me kisses when I would cry. He was my cooking buddy; he would watch me like a hawk from the babygate whenever I would cook, and I would tell him everything I was doing.

Dakota was stoic, funny, barky, quirky, handsome, loving, loyal and all I could have hoped for from my first Sheltie. Dakota was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream of being a mom to a Sheltie. I couldn't have asked for a better dog.

He adored his Daddy and his Mama, popcorn, apples, chicken, hamburgers and his beloved red, white and blue ball. 



He didn't like other dogs, wasn't a fan of that many people, but he was fiercely loyal to his Daddy, Mama and to his brother, Cody. Dakota loved with everything he had, even in his last moments. I am grateful for each and every moment I had with this special boy and miss him terribly.

Dakota and Cody adored each other. Many who wrote me notes of comfort when they passed, a mere 9 days apart, felt that the two of them planned on leaving together.  I'm not surprised. When Cody passed first, Dakota was lost. He kept looking for Cody everywhere, it was the most heartbreaking thing to witness. Dakota had already been diagnosed with cancer (Hemangiosarcoma), and when Cody left us, it was as if Dakota lost his will to live. He wanted to be with his Daddy and Mama but missed his brother terribly.


The photo below was the last photo of the boys taken together; it was taken extremely close to when they passed. I am grateful that I have it. Cody and Dakota brought his Daddy and Mama more joy and silly, loving moments than we ever could have imagined.










This is the sweatshirt that was on the floor of the closet
where Cody ultimately passed.
He chose to lay next to it.
This sweatshirt had been missing for years.
Until Cody passed away on it.
"Coincidence? I think not."
To each and every one of you who have lost beloved babies,
please remember:
"We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun"--John Lennon




Thank you, my precious pets, for your unconditional love, for the happy times and memories that will live with me forever. Thank you, my beloved Cody, for this blog and all that I experienced because you were the first to make it possible. Love forever to all of you, always, your Mama.

I didn't intend for this post to be quite this long, and I thank you for taking the time to read it. I also would like to thank Deb Barnes for creating this wonderful event. I send my love to each and every one of you and look forward to reading your stories and seeing your photos of those "who came before." May we all derive some comfort from these posts.