Losing our Four-Legged Babies

Well, yesterday was a sad day for our family, as we buried the third of the five pets we’ve had for the last 12 years. Our dog Shelby (the brown one) developed a devastating back injury over the weekend. We aren’t sure what happened, or if something did happen. Our vet suggested a stroke, possibly, but we’ve been noticing some behavior changes, so perhaps it’s been progressing towards this point for a while now. Dr. Shimanek didn’t really give us much hope after looking at her yesterday. He just said she’s in really bad shape and a lot of pain. I expected to hear that he could perform a $1,000 surgery to prolong the inevitable, in which case we’d at least have an option, but there was no alternative. So, as hard as it was (and still is), we had her put down shortly after 5:30 yesterday afternoon. This was made all the more difficult for us, especially Greg, because July 14^th is also the day his mother died in a car four years ago.

The other two pets we have lost this year were cats. We found Willow, our calico, under the kitchen table one morning back in February. That was a real shock because she was healthy so far as we knew, and our youngest pet at 10 years old. Then about a month ago, our part-Siamese cat Lexi, disappeared without a trace. The previous night when Greg was calling for the cats to come inside, he heard growling in the alley, like the start of a cat fight, but when he went to check it out, he didn’t find anything around. Neither of our cats came in at that time, though, so he left the door open during the night for Lexi and Britt to come in later. The next morning, Britt was there, but Lexi was not and we haven’t seen her since. We searched the neighborhood and the alley behind our house in depth but found nothing at all. Because of the noise Greg heard, we suspect that something attacked her. And in fact, we heard from a neighbor that one of the two pit bulls who live a street over was running loose around the same time. Part of me still wants to believe that someone just saw our pretty kitty and decided to take her home for their own. I noticed for a couple of weeks afterwards, however, that Britten would go outside but very hesitantly and he would also stay close to the house. My theory is that he witnessed whatever happened to Lexi, and it must have been bad to traumatize him so.

Our house is still far from empty, though. We still have our dog Shanna, our very first pet, and our orange tabby cat, Britten (pet number four), plus our new baby kitties, Cuddles and Patches. Oh, and let me not forget Comet the mouse and Cowboy the Beta fish.

Speaking of Cowboy … on Monday morning, Greyson came to get me, wanting to show me something in the s’ bedroom. I went with him and he pointed into the sink at something black-looking and slimy. Well, my first thought was that a kitten went potty in the sink. My next thought was that an eel of some sort had come up the drain. Finally, the truth dawned on me as I heard Greyson saying, “Fishy in sink!” It was only then that I noticed the lid was off of the fish tank. Apparently, my little boy climbed up on the sink counter, fished Cowboy out of his tank, and then dropped him in the sink. Fortunately, Greyson was so proud of this accomplishment that he came and got me right away to show off his handiwork, so it had not been too long and I was able to put Cowboy back in his water and he swam off very much alive, although probably a bit stressed. This little incident won Cowboy a new spot of honor on the mantle in the living room. I do not think that anyone (cat or boy) can get up there so he’s safe for the moment. At least until the next time Greyson comes across the step ladder …