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Oh that wonderful 12 year old cat I recently adopted wouldn't let me back into the house yesterday. I was out on the front porch changing light bulbs, and when I went to the door there she was at the glass screen door. She was standing up trying to push the handle on the screen door to open it up.

If I opened the door she would dash out and there is no way of catching her. She's an indoor cat. So there I stood waiting for her to get bored with what she was doing.

The door bell didn't phase this cat [she not even afraid of the vacuum, which is strange]. Finally sig other walked by the front door so I tapped on the door.
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Midget is getting over a stomach upset. I don’t know if she ate something or just some doggie virus. I am strict on her diet. After a couple days eating only chicken and rice, she is recovering.

It is sad when on my day off I sleep in and it’s only 6 am. Better than getting up at 4:30 am for work. Ha, I still would have liked to sleep til 8 am.

I tried a boxer rescue once, never heard back from them. I guess they didn’t like us. My dd went to see Bassett hound puppies. The owner/ breeder turned her down because she did show enough enthusiasm for the breed. Ha ha, what does that mean. She got a golden retriever instead.
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I can't remember if I had written about this or not. I tired to get an older cat from a rescue league but they kept making excuses, it was one thing after another. Had to fill out a very long application which asked a lot of personal information.

Then I was think maybe it way my age, being I am 71.... but hello, that is why I wanted a senior cat. Guess they figured I wasn't cat material.... [snort]... I was known among my friends as the cat whisper.

Then months later I check on that cat on the rescue website....yep, he was still there. Then red flag went up as I was thinking maybe the rescue was getting donations and the "foster parents" were actually owners. Wow, nice having the public pay for the care and feeding of one's personal pet.

I saw an article couple weeks ago about pet rescues, one gentleman was turned down for a dog. Here's the interest part, the group didn't recognize the name of this person, who the President of the ASPCA.

I had zero problems getting a wonderful 12 year old cat from the animal shelter, which is a no kill shelter in my county.
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I was on a chi rescue site for 2 years, just knew that I wanted to recue one when the time came to get another. None or them, or sometimes ALL of them appealed to me! Then one day DD called to say a coworker had a pup that he could not keep. We thought and thought about it, and said yes.. nope.. now he[s going to keep the pup. OK, but now everyone is on board with getting another dog.. so we decided to get a rescue from the last disaster, they were coming here in droves the previous disaster! Nope, only 60 came to MD this time, and we missed out. So OK,, we get the info on the breeder on the pup we were going to adopt.. and we adopted one! Simply fell in love at first sight! It happens when it happens.. and I am glad all 60 of those refugees got good homes too!
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Thanks, Send.
I had to go to a neighboring (larger) town today to get the tires on my van rotated, so I stopped at the county animal shelter and looked at the dogs and cats. I saw a couple that were cute and appealing, but nothing that really spoke to me or made me say "that's the one". I think I'll just hold off looking for now.
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So glad that you have your cat, Susan.
Whenever I got a dog at the shelters, it was always the very right choice for me, there was never any second choice, or I never wished I had got a different one that I had seen there. I looked once for 3 months until my friend said, "Why don't you pick one?"
I told her that I would just know when I had found it.
Just confirming that the right pet does "speak"to us.
Take your time while missing your buddy.
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I've been looking at dogs online at various shelters and rescues, and none of them really "speak" to me, so I know it's not time yet.
I miss my dog, but I'll be honest, I am kind of learning to enjoy the "new normal" of just me and the cat. It's quiet, I don't have to corral the dog to let someone in the door, and I don't miss the barking much. I do miss the dog, don't get me wrong - he was a major part of my life for 12 years, and my travel buddy and constant companion - but things are different now - and not really a "bad different" - just different, and I'm starting to get used to it. Having a dog does curtail your travels and activities somewhat, because you have to be home to let the dog out, or take the dog with you when traveling, which means finding a pet-friendly hotel and not always being able to do what you want on your trip because you have the dog with you.

I miss my buddy, but I think I'll wait for a while - maybe a year or so - and decide if I want another one. I'll know when (or if) it's time. I thought of something today: I've never *not* had a dog or a cat. Ever. My family has always had pets. My older sisters each had a dog when I was little, I had a cat. My dad got a dog when I was a teenager and after my cat passed away, Mom got a cat. When I moved out on my own, I had dogs, cats, chinchillas, ferrets, fish, birds, etc - not all at the same time, of course, but I'm an animal lover, so at any given point, I had animals of some sort. I guess maybe I'll take some time out from having anything more than just the cat for a while and see how I feel about it.
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After loosing Mother and then my 2 cats and little dog,I was never more lonely.Then Bootsie surprised my husband and I with her babies exactly a year ago today.
Suddenly,I had a purpose again and it helped me get moving better.I had a reason to get up,something to take care of.Something to Love that Loved me back.
They each have their own unique personalities...
"Toots" is tiny and sweet.Her "thing" is carrying around Mother's curler's,hiding them and retrieving them.
"Trouble" is obsessed with the dishwasher area in hopes of catching a mouse,he saw his Mother do last Oct.
And "Lovee" my favorite all black kitten,loves the upstairs sewing room and goes through Mother's old sewing scraps and shoulder pads and brings down one's she likes and hides them in her little houses.
Theyv'e brought me so much joy and I'll always believe that my Mother in Heaven had something to do with all this....
My 3 little kitten's have been a huge blessing for a whole year~
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The night I had put my beautiful white Angora cat to sleep, I heard her purring next to my arm in bed....
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I lost my lovely Begonia, a Maine coon mix, in October. In November, owing to a sudden medical crisis, I was unconscious or under sedation for several days. During that time, pneumatic compression sleeves were wrapped around my legs to keep my circulation up to speed. They were warm, soothing, and pumped in and out rhythmically --- like a cat breathing. During those days, to the extent that I was aware of things, I thought Begonia was comforting me --- that she had burrowed under the covers and curled up across my ankles. It was so sweet and peaceful even if it was a delusion.
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Glad I'm here. I had to stop for a moment. I forgot what thread I was on and when you said "she peed on your pajamas and then was next to you in bed having her nightly bath, licking herself" I realized we were on the animal thread. LOL. At first, I thought, well you can imagine what I thought. LOL. Note to self, read thread title first before posting.

Anyhow, Susan so sorry about your dog. Losing a pet is never easy. I had a dear, sweet cat who I was really close to and when she died it took me a long time to get over her. I didn't think I'd ever get another one but I can't not have pets. They make life worthwhile.
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Susan,
Your story has really touched my heart. Those are just the memories of our pets that we need. If ever I can get those last days of my dog's days out of my mind, I am sure all the memories of her will be good. So thank you for telling us about your pets.

Wetting the dog food! Amazing!
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Thanks for the condolences, everyone. Can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since he's been gone. Seems like forever some days and other days, seems like he's still here. I still get up every morning with my first thought being, "Need to let the dog out", because that was my routine for 12 years. If I drop something small on the floor while cooking, my first thought is to call him to come and get it, if it's something he can have.

He'll be buried in the yard as soon as it's possible (maybe this week with the warm-up and rain that's coming, we'll see if the ground thaws far enough down for a deep enough hole). The bags I bought to store his body until the thaw were purchased from a livestock supply company and are intended for calves or very young cattle that have died and need to be stored until they can be buried, and are biodegradable. I'll make a place for him between the two large trees in the yard, which is where he spent a lot of time outside. Once spring comes, I'll have a small patio put over his resting place and put my outdoor swing there.

As far as weight loss for dogs, I had a Corgi that was *very* overweight when I got her from a rescue. She should have been no more than 28 lbs and she was close to 40 lbs, which was dangerous for her back (they have long spines like a Dachsund). Her previous owners were elderly and fed her lots of treats, and couldn't walk her for exercise, so she gained weight. When they died, their daughter took the dog in but disliked her (I have no idea why - she was the sweetest dog...) so she ended up in a rescue. They put her on a diet of 1 part dry diet dog food, 1 part wet diet dog food and 1 part canned (low salt) green beans - that, coupled with lots of walks, got her back down to a good, healthy weight over the span of several months. Sadly, I only had her 18 months before we lost her to an aggressive, fast moving form of leukemia.
Funniest thing that dog ever did:  she was *really* picky about her food consistency, and if it wasn't "wet" enough, she would scoop water out of her water dish (right next to her food dish) with her nose and throw it over on the dry food!  
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Two of our older cats have become allergic to red #40 dye in the dry cat food, plus they probably could use something softer now. Am going to try canned mixed with the dumb dry brown stuff I leave with them when we go away for a day or two so they don't eat too much.
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One of the best things about winter is no flies! So, what the heck is this thing doing in here driving Ming absolutely nutty?!
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Ugh! Getting jammies on and bottoms felt wet. Thought she peed on them. Nope didn't smell like it. She is now laying next to me in bed taking her nightly bath. Boy I always wondered how in the world there was enough moisture to bathe by licking themselves. There is plenty of moisture. I can't believe it. Time for a towel on the bed beneath her.😽
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We leave food out all the time for our cat, and the dogs eat it too..LOL the cat is slim. the Chihuahua is slim.. luckily the puppy is a ball of energy.. because she eats it too. And the cat eats the dog food.. SMH.. the vet said not to worry about it.. we'll see how this goes..
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Caregiver2020....Thank you so much! I'll need the one for weight management I think.All my babies are getting way too fat~
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FreqFlyer, the exact name is Purina Pro Plan Vet Diet NF Kidney Function for Cats---canned wet is a pate and there is also a bag of dry food. They are still eating it today:)

Lucky Lu, this kind is for kidney function, but the vet also had some for diabetes management and weight management:)...(Purina Brands also).
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Caregiver2020...Thank you so much for mentioning the K/D by Purina catfood.My kitten's have all gotten SO fat and I'm worried because I sure don't want them to get diabetes,so I'll give the K/D a try and hope they like it as much as yours do.Thanks a lot~
Through the years,Iv'e had 2 diabetic dogs.One of them lost both it's eyes.I never want to go through anything like that again.
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Oh my gosh, that nice quiet sweet but non-bonding cat we recently adopted, who is 12 years old, had turned into a wild child. Wild child cat behavior we are quite use to from crazy old Charlie. It's like every day has become a full moon day.

This afternoon i walked into my home office to find my wastebasket toppled over with everything pulled out. I knew it was Rosey, as she always leaves a tiny tuff of her fur, like a mark of Zorro. She's a Norwegian Forest Cat so she can spare the fur !!

Daily she goes into my bathroom, opens up the curtain [they are on ring loops], and knocks the hand soap container into the sink. And there on the sink was the mark of Zorro. Thus, one tuff of fur at numerous crime scenes throughout the house :)

But I cannot explain why Rosie is attacking this one pink flowering plant. It's in a small light weight plastic container. She knocks it over, grabs it, and kicks with her hind feet. Today I placed the container into a heavy china flower pot.

I think she is testing me, to see if I would yell at her. She would need to resort to setting the house on fire before I would raise my voice, as I find what she does so comical :)
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I'm so sorry for the loss of your, as I call my German shepherd, hair monster. My vet told me that if you bury them in the back yard use biodegradable materials and plant something in the hole and it will grow amazingly great, giving something beautiful to remember our loved ones by.
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Caregiver 2020, thanks for the info on Purina K/D wet food. I will drop by the Vet and buy a couple cans to try out :)
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We tried Science Diet for one of our cats.. she hated it. Good to know about these others as our indoor/outdoor cat is getting older.
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Susan, I am so sorry about your dog. They surely are a part of our family.

FreqFlyer, after trying 5 different prescription K/D wet canned food in the last 2 days, we have a winner I think...Purina makes a prescription K/D canned food and both our cats have been coming back for more all day. It is kind of like a pate---our cats didn't like any of the ones with chunks in them. I see Purina also makes a kidney function dry food, so we are going to try that tomorrow. Both are prescription and we get them at the vets. Both cats just walked away from the other brands.
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Susan....I'm so sorry you lost your big old boy and I know you must miss him already so much.He was lucky to have such a good home and such a good MaMa with you.
All of our babies are buried in the backyard with stones on their graves that say the years we had them and their names.One is buried in a child's casket,my parents bought.Most are in sealed tubs,buried with their clothes and favorite toys.We have lost pets when the ground was frozen too and they were kept in a freezer until the ground was soft enough to bury them.We always have a funeral,say special prayers and our goodbye's....It gives me a lot of comfort that they are buried in the backyard,so I understand why you want to bury yours in the yard also.Again,I'm sorry you lost your boy.
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Susan,, opps... I never thought about size! We have only had cats done,, they are pretty small. I like the idea of putting your baby in his favorite spot. My hubs won't bury pets in the yard.. he has this fear they will get dug up or something. He would not even bury the dang hamster...LOL And no we did not have it creamated! I dealt with it in my own way... it was dignified,, I swear!
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Nearing the end of a week where mom has been loony and defiant to the Nth degree.

I get her in the car for dialysis and tell her to put on her seatbelt. She starts playing with the window.

"What are you doing mom?"

"I'm...trying to open the door."

"Why are you opening the window then?"

"I don't know."

"Ok," I say, activating the window child lock. "Use the black handle on the door."

She pushes the window switch a few more times, then eventually finds her way along the door to the handle, pulls at her coat (which wasn't actually stuck), and tries to use the door opener to close the door.

Of course it doesn't close that way.

"Mom, use the other handle. No, the other handle. No, the other handle. Not the window. Go down. No, down. Now to your right. Your other right. Further. No, not that handle, the other one. The other one. The other handle, mom. Look below that one. See that handle? It's the same colour as the door, can you see it now? See how it indents?"

She pulls on the door. It doesn't click all the way shut. I tell her. She opens it and tries again. It doesn't click shut. Finally I lean over and open/close it properly.

"Ok, now put on your seatbelt."

Mom starts playing with the window button.

Ok, well you can imagine how it all went from there.

After that and about a half dozen other scenarios of things going off the rails, I finally leave her in the hands of the hospital porter for dialysis. I get in the car. Start it up.

The radio starts playing Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."

"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train......."

I rest my head on the steering wheel.

Sorry for changing tense, here, but....I have to. I can't live like that's the present anymore! Lol.

I gave up on my errands halfway through this afternoon. I sat in the parking lot at Safeway and, instead of going in, I said, "Screw this, I'm going to start my day again and go hug my kitten."

And then I got in the door, and Bruce was already coming towards me. I put on my excited voice and said "Hello Bruce! Hello my boy!" And he was all fluffy and happy. He lifted his front paws to be picked up. We cuddled hard and then I ruffled his fur a few times. I could hear the deep rumble in his chest.

I just had to post this because.....aren't animals awesome? Aren't they really just the best thing on earth? I think so, anyway.
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So sorry for your loss, Susan.
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Pam, I wish cremations were that cheap here. It's a lot more, and goes by size of the animal. Or to go cheaper, you can have them cremated with a bunch of other animals and get ashes back that are a mixture of a bunch of animals, not just your dog. No thanks. I like the idea of having him buried here in the yard, where I can make a nice spot for him between the trees where he liked to be when he was outside. I don't know why, but something was just telling me to get ready a couple of weeks before he died, and since it was winter, I knew that meant having to "store" his body until spring. I hate the idea, but it was the only option I had.
(Note: if anyone else finds themselves in this position, there are Ebay sellers that offer bags just for this purpose.)
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