Last week I blogged about missing pets, and the signs in my neighborhood that demonstrated people’s heartaches.
This week, too, has been filled with some poignant pet matters that have pulled at my heart.
For one thing, the parents of a good friend of mine rescued a dog from a shelter only four months ago. The poor dog became very ill this week, and they rushed him to a vet, who sent them to an emergency vet for more tests. He had some severe internal problems that hadn’t surfaced before. Although they’d been told he was six years old when they adopted him, the vets estimated his age at around ten. An operation to attempt to fix his problems would have been exorbitantly expensive and the outcome would have been uncertain, especially at his age. They chose to have him put to sleep peacefully--how sad...
I'm pondering how I can use something like this in a future Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery or an upcoming pet rescuer mystery story. Give it a happier ending, which can be done in fiction.
But right now, my little Cavalier Mystie keeps jumping on my lap and hugging my face, which means she wants to go out, which is seconded by Lexie’s pawing at me. I’d better obey them... and give them both lots of affection. And count my own blessings.
How about you--are you given orders by your pets? And have you heard of difficult pet-related situations that you wish you could solve for friends and loved ones?
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6 comments:
Hi Linda,
Stories like this one always pull at my heart. But I know that the little dog you spoke of had the best four months any doggie could ask for.
I once adopted a Siamese cat and her kitten from a man who had Aids and could no longer care for them. The mother cat was ill all the time so I took her to the vet. Both she and her kitten had feline aids. It broke my heart to have to contact the previous owner with the news but I needed to do so because all the other kittens he had given away would have also been infected. Can you imagine being that ill and having to tell people their new babies were going to get very sick?
My ex husband went crazy when I told him the cats had feline aids and insisted they be put down. That really broke my heart to do it. My regular veterinarian would not put them down, he just could not do that. There is a sad ending there too as he eventually committed suicide. We often think of veterinary work as a giving profession but it takes its tolls on the people who have to live with things like this everyday.
Pets giving orders? Every day! My one cat Snaps insiste I turn the faucent on just a trickle so he can drink from the stream, and he persists with his demand every time I go into the bathroom until I comply. All Panzi wants is for me to ignore her eating the pansies growing in the flower box. I'm not sure that's bossiness, but if you could see the bloomless state of my pansies you'd know she's succeeding.
Pansies must taste really good! The late Max used to munch them bloomless, as well as eat tulips, roses and the leaves off the ficus. All are not poisonous, as he lived to a ripe old age. Chloe leads me to the food dish every time I walk into the kitchen. Even if it's full, she labors under the delusion I might put some more in there.
I don't know if it quite counts as bossy, but the cats we adopted came with already learned habits. We finally figured out the big male cat must have been carried around on somebody's shoulder when he was a kitten, which is probably why he still jumps on my shoulders whenever he gets the opportunity. I'm sure it never occurs to Rocky that he's a fourteen pound cat now.
And Spago. We think they named her that because she's a foodie. Since I'm a vegetarian, she's only interested in me when I have yogurt. She'll sit next to me and tap me with her paw until I put some on my finger and serve it to her. But she sits on the arm of my husband's chair when he's eating, and does her patting manuever until he shares.
I'm sure that's true, Janie, that the last months of the poor pup's life were wonderful.
I knew some diseases could be caught by different species, Karin, but I didn't know that Aids was one of them. What a sad story--about the cats and the vet.
Sounds as if your cats have you as well trained as my dogs have me, Monica.
I keep reading lists of things animals shouldn't eat for health reasons, but apparently a lot of houseplants aren't on the list, Julie and Monica.
And, yes, those sound bossy to me, Betty. Determined, at least. But definitely cute.
--Linda
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