Sometimes I...

...have to water the plants, too.

Gone Fishing

A new learning experience for me: The salt water tank. It's awesome. The diversity of life and the colors in this tank are just incredible.
There was the sexy, Angelina Jolie fish, which is now gone; the broccoli plant, (i think is really an animal), the iridescent Lima beans, the pearl plant, the white snails that live under the sand (they remind me of the Storm Troopers in Star Wars)....

This tank is awesome!

Tucker, So Far

So far, so good.
He remains happy, and walks with a limp.
And he's cute as hell.

"Let Them Eat Cake," He Said

Who cares if it's cooked!



Bad Toby does it again!

He got into the cabinet, took the cake mix into the dining room (after all, it IS the proper place to eat) and proceeded to open and eat the box contents. It was his birthday. He gets seven a year, so why not today? To be festive, he also brought the food coloring with him into the dining room, and opened them all up.

In the kitchen, he got into the baking powder, and found the can of vanilla frosting. I can't blame him for eating that. Frosting is the best part of the cake, if you ask me.

Oh Toby, admit it, you're a bad dog!
The proof is on your face.

Grumpy's Home!

Grumpy's first five minutes.
Boy was he hungry!
And I think his sibblings were happy to have him home.

I wonder if Grumpy knows how close he came to having his penis amputated. I would have had to change his name from Grumpy Angelo to Grumpy Angelina. I think his brother, Max, would have given him a really hard time about that.

Let's hear it for pee!!!!!

Update: Grumpy

Last night, 10:10pm: Doc called, and guess who didn't pee yet? so in the catherta goes again, this time for at least 24 hours.

Today, 9am: Doc calls. Grumpy hasn't eaten, and that is not good for a cat to go without food for too long. Doc urges me to come by, and try to get him to eat.

Tonight, 6:30pm: I went to the hospital, with fresh chicken, roast beef, his favorite tuna cat food. I also brought the t-shirt i wear to sleep, to leave with him, so he has my smell to keep him calm. And his favorite toy--a furry ball. (don't ALL boys love furry balls best?) I stayed an hour, and we cuddled, but Grumpy wouldn't eat.
I think Grumpy is just too freaked out being in the hospital, and that is why he isn't eating.
I asked the doctor if Grumpy was going to die, and Doc says NO!

tomorrow morning the catherta comes out, and if he pees, like a good little boy, i get to take him home tomorrow night.
PEE GRUMPY! PEE!

Poor Grumpy!

Yesterday, 5:45am: i do my traditional playing with the cats before i get out of bed. Grumpy meows like nothing I ever heard from him.
6:15am: He is hiding, so i bring his breakfast to him, and I watch him eat.
6:40am: Shake the cat treats, but he's in hiding. I find him under the sofa.

10am: Still no sign of Grumpy, not even when i shake the cat treat bag again.

Noon: Where is that Grumpy man?

7pm: Found him--in the kitty litter box. He's not coming out. I know he is blocked, so i take him to the emergency vet.

8pm: Blockage confirmed. He has to stay overnight, and have a catheter inserted to relieve himself.

Today, 9:30am: Get a call that he's a feisty guy, and pulled his catheter out. Once he pees on his own, I can take him home. X-rays do not show any stones.

3pm: Still hasn't peed. Docs were concerned, so they expressed some out with no problems, so he's no longer blocked. However, he can't come home until he pees on his own. What they did get out of him had alot of blood in it. Could be from a bad infection. Could be from the catheter. Could be from cancer.

7pm: I go visit him and have a talk with him, how he HAS to pee so he can come home. Doc says if he doesn't pee by 10pm, they will have to put the catheter back in. He's not gonna like that.

9:50pm: Waiting for the phone to ring. Hoping he pees tonight, so he can come home tomorrow. Max misses him. He kept me awake all night. That and the nightmares that three kids stole all my money.
Did I mention, so far, the bill is $1500?

Get well Grumpy!!!! I can't afford much more! Max misses you, and Mommy's hair is already white with fright for you!

Letter to Tucker

Tucker, you silly goose!
Thanks for all the years of laughs you have given me!
Your stubbornness really makes me laugh! When I walk you, and you decide you want to go a different way than I was planning--I love the way you stop and sit, almost close your eyes, and raise your eyebrows.
I love how excited you get on our walks and you notice a new holiday decoration in a yard we are passing, and you instinctively want to make friends with it.
I love that you always have a gift to offer me when i arrive to take you for our walk. All the pillows, especially, as they indicate that you are concerned with my comfort level.
Thanks for protecting me from those men in blue, that were really there to rescue me from your bathroom the time i got locked inside. (That whole incident is one of my very favorite dog walking stories!)
Thanks for always having a smile for me, even on those days I didn't really feel like smiling.
Thanks for shaking my hand every time I asked. I knew you could do it, I just liked to make you work for your treats! ;-)
Thanks for always taking me in different directions, so we could explore the neighborhood and never get bored.
Thanks for loving me during those times I didn't feel too loved.
Thanks for being a song in my heart, I will never forget.

I know you have to go soon, and I wanted to thank you for all your friendship and love and happiness you have given me over the years. I wish you the most painless journey to the other side of that rainbow bridge, and I hope that you will wait for me to cross over.

Thanks for everything! I LOVE YOU.