Today we say goodbye to Baby… 1992 – 2010

 Baby was a young cat when we got her, we think maybe a year old.  It seems like yesterday when we chased her around a family friend’s yard to catch her and bring her home with us but in reality it was 17 years ago.  She’s been a great pet and we are left with plenty of wonderful memories that will keep her in our hearts forever.

 In her younger years she was very much a part of our everyday lives.  Always in the middle of things and ready to partake in all the family activities.  She was there to comfort me through divorce, lend a purr to the kids when they were in bed with colds and always keeping her regular vigil over the house…making her rounds through each of our rooms at night checking to ensure all was right in the world with her family.

She was an outdoor cat when we got her but aside from the occasional excursion into the back yard to check things out, she has been an indoor cat since joining our family.  I think she liked living indoors.  She was never an extremely playful cat and wasn’t the type to bring us present like mice or lizards.  Instead she was a mellow, laid back soul which filled the house with a sense of calmness.

She went through half a dozen moves with us, including the relocation from Texas to Washington which included a 5 day cross-country drive.  I wouldn’t exactly call her the travelling type but she made it through the trip and easily adjusted once we arrived.

 The last couple of years have each been increasingly difficult on her and we began to notice changes in her health. She stopped grooming herself and her water intake increased dramatically.  Her eyesight declined from both cataracts and glaucoma according to the vet so she has been blind for some time.  Last summer, on the heels of losing Sasha, we thought we had lost her as well to the heat, however she cashed in on one of her remaining nine lives and amazingly made it through.

 Last night she really started acting strange and just wasn’t herself.  She had the same look Sasha did towards the end so in my heart I knew something was up, especially since she was no longer purring when we were petting her.  After discussing with the kids we all agreed this was serious and had an idea it might be time.  She had already stopped eating so we kept an eye on her overnight and by this morning she had stopped drinking as well.  We took her to the vet who confirmed that Baby was suffering from a metabolic shutdown which, given her age, was not surprising at all.

 Together we made the call that it was time to let her go and we sat with her while she slipped away to be with her long time friend, our dear Sasha. She’ll also be surprised to find her old pal Bailey up there as well, it’s been years since they had the chance to torment each other!

 Peace be with you, Baby…until we meet again on the other side.

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My friend Sandy sent me this in email at work from an unknown source.  I enjoyed it so much I thought I would share.  Have a read, enjoy and tell me at least half of this doesn’t ring true for you and your furball(s)?  :)

The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats:
The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort.  However, dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years – canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

NOTICE TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don’t.
(2) If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it ‘fur’-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

(1) eat less
(2) don’t ask for money all the time
(3) are easier to train
(4) normally come when called
(5) never ask to drive the car
(6) don’t hang out with drug-using people
(7) don’t smoke or drink
(8) don’t want to wear your clothes
(9) don’t have to buy the latest fashions
(10) don’t need a gazillion dollars for college and
(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Your Faithful Owner…

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After having no less than four different individuals tell me this week how tired I looked (face it, we all know that’s just a polite way of saying you look horrible)  I lay awake one night, trying to think about why I am indeed so tired, it hit me… while logic might suggest it’s the insane schedule at work,  I suspect that instead it has something to do with our little “bed hog” we call Isabella. 

I lay there while she is snoozing away comfortably and I realize the amount of contortion my body is in to accommodate her.  It’s not entirely her fault I must concede, as I am certainly guilty of adjusting my own body position to take advantage of her radiating heat.  Who needs an extra blanket when you have a dachshund under the covers?  Nonetheless, at this point I realize I’m extremely uncomfortable and I’m sure my discomfort is due to the fact that she is stretched out crossways instead of lengthwise in the bed.  A few adjustments, ah…comfort AND warmth!  I know however that before dawn arrives I will likely go through this same pattern of adjustment a few more times.  Why must she fight the natural alignment of the bed?  Why must she lay with her butt on the pillow and her head declined?  Doesn’t the blood rush to her head?  Comfort and warmth aside however, I now lay there in the wee late hours WIDE AWAKE… 

 I’m a light sleeper anyway and a typical night follows a similar pattern at our house.  It goes something like this:  

First, Isabella plays a few rounds of “bed hopping” as we like to call it. This is her trying to decide where she will begin her evening of slumber.  I say begin because the evening usually includes several rounds.  

Fifteen minutes here, thirty minutes there and we all join in for a quick rendition of ”make up your mind silly girl and just decide”!  The problem is, even once she decides and we are all settled in snug as bugs in a rug…she usually continues to play by herself.  

She will get up and go check on Bubby or her momma and just when I find myself teetering on the brink of sleep I hear the familiar jingle of her “necklace” (aka collar and tags) as she attempts to jump back into my bed… which of course she can’t quite make…not without several tries anyway, which leads to a guilt trip because of the whole dachshund bad back problem and so on…  So, I sit up and lean over the edge of the bed to lift her up and what does she do???  Of course she backs up just out of reach…Argh, now we play a few rounds of this where I lay back down, she whimpers, I sit up to help, she steps back out of reach and now I’m sure I hear her mockingly singing nah, nah, nana boo boo…  I know where she learned this too! It was one of Sasha’s favorite games as a puppy, that and drop the toy off the edge of the bed to see how many times I’ll pick it up for her! (which  she also taught Isabella, but that’s another post.)

Once in bed and settled in, she migrates into the aforementioned body position.  Readjustment…Rinse and repeat…you get the picture.  No wonder I’m not sleeping well.

Isabella never used to sleep with me but when Sasha passed away and her Momma was still off at college she started sleeping with me pretty consistently.  (This of course has her mother quite upset now that she has moved back home from school and Isabella has not settled back into sleeping with her regularly again but this is yet another post.) 

So as I finally settle back into slumber, I start thinking about how both Sasha, and now Isabella too sleep stretched out so long, at least at night.  Who would think this was a small little miniature dachshund laying down the entire length of my leg?   If I think about how they sleep during the day it’s quite different!    During the day, unless playing or basking in the sun, they are usually in variations of two positions. It really depends on the message they wish to convey… 

The first, I call the typical dachshund multi-purpose.  

 It can be used in several situations:

• What, I didn’t do it! Look at me, I’m so innocent, I would NEVER!
• You’re about to leave without me aren’t’ you? How DARE you leave me alone again!
• My ball rolled under the couch and I’m so sad because NO ONE will help me get it back for the 100th time!
• Whatever you’re eating sure looks tasty! If you loved me you’d let me have some!

The second is the standard “cat-nap” pose…curled up with their nose tucked neatly near their rear end.  Let me just say one thing: nothing looks more precious!  So calm and quiet and innocent <looking>.

Maybe all dogs do this? Sleep differently day vs night.  I rarely wake up and find Isabella curled up at night! Is it comfort?  Maybe exhausted from the day?  I mean, they must be worn out from a busy day of squirrel chasing, tail wagging and trouble making, not to mention all the cat napping?   

 Well, whatever the reason, I’m happy that she’s getting a good night’s sleep in the end but her nights of “ring-around-the-bed posts” are leaving me waking in the morning still just plain dog tired…

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