Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Holly the Beagle

I am posting this link here so I have it forever and ever. I love beagles!

The Daily Puppy/Holly the Beagle



Need a cat? Or 5?

Can you imagine 130 cats in one Moscow flat?


You should check out the pictures on this site. Be sure to watch the video too! Those cats are crazy!

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Dirty Windows

I really want this bumper sticker:


Anyone who has a dog with a wet nose will appreciate that! :-)

Found at cafepress.com

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Dear Jera

(Originally posted at twentysixcats.com)

Dear Jera,

I remember the last time I saw you. You were so cute - laying there in the grass, watching the world go by. I actually had picked up the camera to get a picture of you when the garbage truck came. Now, I wish I had run out to hold you, to assure you that it was okay. But I didn’t realize how scared you would be. To me, the garbage truck was just an annoyingly noisy thing that would soon pass. To you, it was a danger that must be avoided at all costs. That was the last I saw of you.

Joanna and Jera

I hope you know that we tried our best to look for you. We searched everywhere, delaying our trip back to Atlanta until we just had to leave. I signed up for every lost dog website, and we called all the people we could think of. We even came back up to Nashville to look for you again. At first we thought we’d found you! We were very excited until we saw the dog running around - another beagle who looked like you, but definitely not you. We were crushed. It was hard to keep going, keep searching. I know I have to come to grips with the fact that I may never see you again. That makes me sad.

Jera hiding

We’ve only known you 7 1/2 months, but you were such a part of our lives. It wasn’t always easy - there were times I hoped you would run away because I was so fed up! You definitely tried our patience, but you were getting better. Or maybe we were getting to be better dog owners, I don’t know. Probably both. I must say that despite all of it, you were a joy to know.

The Dog Park

One of my favorite memories of you is when I would take you on our daily walks at lunch around the neighborhood. You would find a pine cone, pick it up, and then prance around with it in your mouth. You would greet anyone who passed by, and not everyone particularly liked dogs! You didn’t care. You wanted to be friends with everyone. You had such a sweet disposition. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, sweeter, more wonderful puppy. You were adorable, especially when you would lay your head on our legs at night as we sat on the floor of the living room.

Paul and Jera

I enjoyed taking you to the dog park every week. I loved watching you run and play. I loved it when everyone came to praise you, how cute and sweet you were. I was so proud to be your owner, your mommy. I loved it when you would wear yourself out and you would just sleep in the car on the way home. Sometimes you’d be so tired you couldn’t even jump into the car!

Running in the dog park

I didn’t realize how much of my mornings were spent taking care of you. We had our own little time then, didn’t we? I’m not a morning person, but I loved getting you out of your crate and taking you outside. You would stretch, as if it was so hard to wake up! Then you’d wag your tail, looking up at me with love. As I sat there and watched you eat your breakfast, you would keep wagging your tail. And if I started rubbing your back, that tail would just go crazy! It would always make me smile. Everyone should start off their mornings like that.

Amy and Jera

Camping with you is another special memory we have together - especially that first trip. You were so excited to sleep on the sleeping bag with me! And when you’d wake up in the morning you’d come and lick my face. You were adorable, and I immediately forgave you for waking me up. I also loved hiking with you. I don’t know how you had all that energy! I was so exhausted but you were just as bouncy and as excited as always. I was looking forward to many camping trips with you. As it was, we only had three together.

Jera in the living room

I’m sorry for all my shortcomings as your mommy. I was trying to be a better cuddler - that’s why those last few weeks I would lay on the floor and cuddle with you. I wanted you to know how much I loved you and how special you were to me, even if it was hard for me to show it. I wanted you to know that you never had to worry about me leaving you - that I was committed to you for life.

Jera graduates!

We are going to be packing up your things in the next few days, Jera. It makes me sad to see them empty, without you. Your toys and your bones - they all remind me of you, as if you were really here and will be back in a minute. I really really wish you were coming back for sure. I hope you DO come back. I hope wherever you are, that someone finds you and turns you in. All they have to do is scan your microchip and you are home free. I will rejoice if that day comes, but I need to realize that it may not. I would have loved to have been your mommy for the next 15 years. I hope I get to be, but I know it’s up to God now. We’ve done all we can - we tried hard, Jera. God knows where you are and He’ll bring you back if He wants to. I am praying that He does that. In the meantime, I’ll try to move on so that my heart can grieve for you and begin to heal again. Who knows, maybe you’ll turn up again after 6 years just like my cat Yum Yum?

Jera helping Paul

So, dear Jera, stay safe wherever you are, and please come home. We love you so much. I hope you always remember that.

Your mommy forever,
Ashley

Close up of Jera

Thursday, July 26, 2007

missing dog & compassionate cat

When I checked my email this morning, I found a few articles had been sent to me!

Missing Dog in Australia Found 2,000 Miles From Home
SYDNEY, Australia — A dog that vanished two months ago has been found 2,000 miles from home, media reported Wednesday.

Rusty was to be flown home Thursday after being sent to a pound in Darwin, Australia's northernmost city, and identified this week by a microchip inserted under the skin.
Maybe Jera will show up in 2 months at home? :-) (That's about 250 miles)

And these stories reminded me of my cat Lewis. He is very cuddly and friendly; I want to hook up with an organization that will allow me to take him to nursing homes or hospitals to provide comfort for the patients and residents. I'll have to do some Google searching to see if I can find out how to do that.

Oscar the Cat Predicts Nursing Home Deaths
When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Monday, July 9, 2007

Six-toed Hemingway cats can stay, city says

From CNN.com:
KEY WEST, Florida (AP) -- City officials have sided with Ernest Hemingway's former home and its celebrated six-toed felines in its cat fight with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Key West City Commission exempted the home from a city law prohibiting more than four domestic animals per household.

About 50 cats live there.

The house has been locked in a dispute with the USDA, which claims the museum is an "exhibitor" of cats and needs a special license, a claim the home disputes.

The new ordinance reads in part, "The cats reside on the property just as the cats did in the time of Hemingway himself. They are not on exhibition in the manner of circus animals. ... The City Commission finds that family of polydactyl Hemingway cats are indeed animals of historic, social and tourism significance."

It also states that the cats are "an integral part of the history and ambiance of the Hemingway House."

A USDA spokesman did not return messages left late Sunday.

The cats are descendants of a six-toed cat given as a gift to the writer in 1935. All carry the gene for six toes, though not all display the trait.


I'm glad to hear that kitties can stay. :-) I guess my dreams of having 26 cats are not going to happen... Oh well. alcohol rehabs