My friend, Janie, sadly lost a pet this weekend. I don't know about anybody else, but our pets have always been like "kids" to us and we have really gotten attached to them over the years.
After Casey and I married, our boys decided they wanted a kitten. Fortunately for us it wasn't hard to find one. Granddaddy Royce had a litter hiding under the corner of the house. So I carried the boys to visit Granddaddy Royce. We stood quietly around the corner of the house while he stood right at the corner and waited for one of the little critters to stick its head out of a hole. He then reached down, grabbed the first one that poked its nosy head out, and proceeded to throw it at me. Of course it was wild as heck. I grabbed it with both hands and held it tightly against my chest to keep it from getting away, but more to keep it from clawing me. The boys were so excited!
We got in the car and I drove home holding that kitten as tight as I could against my chest with my left hand.
Immediately upon entering the house, I dropped the kitten in the floor. It ran and hid and we didn't see it for three days. We searched and searched and couldn't find it. Then one day, all of a sudden, the kitten walked into the kitchen while we were in there, and we were able to sit in the floor and fool with it a little. I put food and water down and the little thing was starving to death and ate and ate. She was such a tiny baby, that all we started saying was "come on Baby Girl". We continued to call her and talk softly to her until she got used to us. And "Baby Girl" she was. She was mostly all white but had just a little bit of black on her. She was such a joy for our whole family. We adopted her in 1994 and she lived a wonderful spoiled life until old age got her in 2009. We cried like babies when we had to carry her to the vet and have her put to sleep. Casey took her and after they dosed her he sat and rubbed her head until she faded into another world. We put her in a box and buried her in what has now become our pet cemetery out by Casey's shop.
That Christmas the boys and their spouses adopted a cat from a shelter and gave her to me for Christmas. She was a beautiful spunky gold kitten and I named her "Gracie". She was a lot of fun and she really was beautiful but she was into everything. You couldn't keep her out of a drawer, a cabinet, a closet, climbing on everything, the table, the furniture, whatever. As Daddy continued to get sicker and sicker with cancer those first few months of 2010, the cat was becoming a chore for me to handle, emotionally. I just couldn't deal with her. Clay and Jessie took her to their house and kept her for several months. I still got to see her but I wasn't having to take care of her.
After Daddy passed away in May, I decided to take her back home with me. She was a huge emotional help to me at that time and I loved having her to love on. In October, Johnny and Amy, Mama, Deborah and I, went to Paducah to spend the weekend with Jarrod and Jennifer. On Sunday, on our way home, I talked to Casey and he told me that when I got home we were going to have to take the cat to the vet, that she was sick. When I got home, she was just sitting in a ball and wouldn't move. We called our vet and carried her straight there. They did an ex-ray of her stomach and found that she had a wad of rubber bands and a hair tie lodged in her stomach which had set up infection. She was so weak that they put her on iv and we brought her home and kept her overnight in the bed with us with the iv bag hanging on the canopy part of the bed. First thing in the morning, I carried her back to the vet on my way to work and they decided they were going to have to do surgery to remove the blockage. I went on to work, and after work went by and checked on her. She looked pitiful and we had to leave her overnight. The next day while I was at work, the vet called to inform me that she had passed away. Another sad day. We brought her home and put her in a box and she was also buried in our pet cemetery, Again, we cried like babies.
After this last episode with a cat, I said I would not get another one because I just couldn't stand to lose them. But, as fate would have it, that idea didn't last. I had made my daily trip to the post office for work, and as I was coming out of the door, I noticed a picture of a black kitten with just a touch of white on it attached to the door. There was also a tear off strip with a number to call if you wanted to adopt this kitten. Free, already with shots, spayed, and declawed. I walked on out. Two days later, I couldn't resist checking on the kitten. I called the number and low and behold it was the vet that we always use. This kitten had been donated to "Doc" and he didn't need it, so they were giving it away. Casey and I talked it over, and I went to see the kitten, and that's all it took. She looked up at me and had this little white strip under her chin that moved up over her top lip in just a tiny spot that was just so unusual.
She stole my heart right away. I took her, along with her tweeting bird toy and another toy that belonged to her, and she came to live with us. I named her "Sophie".
Sophie has now been a wonderful part of our family for three years and we spoil her just like a child. She has kitty treats that have to be fed to her while we eat. She is spoiled with deli ham. She has a whole box of toys. And she even has her own "black and white thing" bed. I have to honestly say that she is, right now, the joy of my life. I am home every day with her. She plays with me, follows me while I do laundry or accounting or whatever I do. She sits right by me. If I am sitting down, she is in my lap most of the time. She definitely has her own personality too. I hope she will be around for a long time.
Casey and Clay love her just as much as I do. Clay said yesterday that we were going to have to share joint custody of her because he wants to take her home to live with him.. I don't think so. I'll just have to try to find him one like her. Wish me luck!
Here's hoping that all of you can continue to enjoy your cats, dogs, horses, whatever pet you have and love. They are truly a blessing to us in their own way.
I know Janie is so glad that she made the wonderful pictures of "Pride" over the years. Rest in peace "Pride".
xxoo