The Chronicles of Cardigan: pet loss

Showing posts with label pet loss. Show all posts

Monday, July 2, 2012

A Red Dog's Unlikely, Life-Saving Purpose

You might remember that I recently read and reviewed the book, A Dog's Purpose. In the book, the dog (over the course of several lives and many life lessons) determines (he's a thinker) that he's been ultimately placed on this earth to love and protect his "boy" Ethan.

Well, as usually the case after I read something so thought-provoking, I've been wondering about my own pets - how I came to know them, lessons they've taught me, life choices they've influenced - and I can't help but agree with Cameron: There is a purpose. They all (pets, I mean) have a purpose (or many). But unlike in the book (which is fictional), our pets can't spell it out for us; we are left, if we choose, to figure it out on our own.

And I, for one, am blown away whenever I make the connection between a pet (not necessarily my own) and a life-road traveled.

Take one particular red dog (who, by the way, has a whole tapestry of purposes, but I'm just going to cover one particular thread in this example). I'll start in the present and work my way backwards, so you can clearly see the connection.

July 3, 2012: Elizabeth returns her three healthy foster kittens to the Richmond SPCA, so they can be spayed/neutered and placed for adoption.
May 25, 2012: Elizabeth picks her three 5-week-old foster kittens up from the (no-kill) Richmond SPCA, freeing up space for three other homeless infant kittens who might not otherwise have survived.
Over the course of the last 18 months: Elizabeth is heavily influenced by other bloggers who write about their animal fostering experiences.
Spring 2011: Elizabeth first becomes aware (through a blog post at RichmondPetLovers.com, a site she had never visited before starting this blog) of the urgent need for kitten fostering volunteers (during kitten season) at the Richmond SPCA.
December 2010: Elizabeth quietly launches The Chronicles of Cardigan with a very silly holiday card.
Fall 2010: Elizabeth has a burning desire to write about her experiences with young Jon Farleigh and Dewi, and is influenced and encouraged by the network of other Cardigan Welsh Corgi bloggers, particularly Red Dog Mom at Life with The Horde.
March 2010: Elizabeth (and family) meet wee puppy Jon Farleigh, his mama Lucy, daddy Sam, breeder Liz and Sam's human mom, Dina [aka Red Dog Mom] for the first time.
January 1, 2010: Jon Farleigh and his five littermates are born to red dog mama, Lucy, and (by proxy) red dog daddy, Sam.
Several years prior: Red Dog Mom becomes a "red dog" mom for the first time, with the addition of Sam (JF's future daddy).
May 31, 1998: Ch Yardican Roland ROMb (Sam) is born (in Finland - yes, the country).

Isn't it amazing how some things work out?

A kitten life-saver, he is.

And, there will be more (lives saved), because I'm not done fostering. :)

Sam
(Good Dog, Friend to Homeless Kittens)

May 31, 1998 - June 30, 2012

:-)

(Note: There will be no blog post tomorrow. See you Wednesday.)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Reason #156 to Volunteer at Your Local Shelter: Cute Guys Playing with Cats

I've been taking some volunteer training courses at my local (Richmond) SPCA. Today, one of those courses was "Cat Handling," which is a prerequisite for a particular shelter function that involves cleaning the cages ("cat condos") of the felines who are not housed in one of two cat common rooms. (In other words, training for how to read cat body language, and hopefully, interact peacefully with the cats, whose individual cages you will be sticking your face and arms into to clean.)

Important note: Because the aforementioned cats have already been deemed adoptable (aka someone's future awesome pet) by the shelter's behavioral/health experts, there is no risk of them going Ninja on anyone, it's just that - same as with dogs - one needs to approach a cat with care, especially a cat who's caged in a shelter environment, as the cat might be fearful and could become physically defensive.

So anyway...where was I?

Oh, yes! The cat handling class. :)

Okay, wait a minute. I need to tell you something else...just to make myself feel better about publishing this goofy post...I think.

I got choked up in the middle of the cat handling class.

Yep, I looked over and locked eyes with a cat who looked exactly like my (long gone) beloved heart-cat, Buster (about whom I've never written before, because I don't have the vocabulary or skills to do him justice with words). And while my fear of public humiliation dammed the salty river brewing in my eye sockets for the duration of class, there was no holding it back once I got into my car.

Yes, it was a wet ride home.

I tell you this NOT because I desire your pity (truly), but because in my struggle to divert my thoughts from my dearly departed cat (so my eyes wouldn't swell up and bug out, to the dismay of my family), the only diversions I could think of (in the car) were the precious (and cute) men who showed up to take the same cat handling class!

Image Source
No idea who this is, but apparently, because this captioned photo already exists on the Internet,
I am not the only one who appreciates the qualities of a man who practices kitty PDA.

And there you have it.

If you have been on the fence about getting out and helping at your local shelter, and you aren't opposed to seeing a few men (who are not only compassionate and kind to animals, but are self-assured enough to be seen attending a training class with a bunch of crazy cat ladies, scooping litter boxes and making baby talk to a bunch of felines)...

YOU NO LONGER HAVE ANY REASON TO STAY AWAY!

Go forth, volunteer, and enjoy the scenery (animal and human) at your local shelter today!

:-)

P.S. Men readers, just so you know, crazy cat ladies make nice scenery, too.

P.P.S. (added 4/14/13) Want to see a bunch more guys with cats (and perhaps find a sweet kitty of your own to adopt)?! Head over to Petfinder, whose "I Am a Cat Parent" campaign (to shine light on cats as AWESOME pets) is in full swing!

"Heck yeah, I'm a cat guy!"

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

God, maybe you should've left a little bit of dogs lacking...

...then it wouldn't have to hurt so bad when they've gone. - Me

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I wrote the following post over three years ago, and today, October 27, 2015, I find myself - once again - sitting here heartbroken, having learned from a title in my blog reader, that my friend Sue has lost her beloved Jeffie to Leptospirosis and liver failure at the too-young age of 9.

Why do reminders about the preciousness of life have to hurt so bad?

Sue, I am so, so sorry for your loss. May you once again find comfort in these words, when your heart is ready.

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This morning when I opened my blog, I learned from an ominous title in my blogroll that Lucy B, my friend Sue at Talking Dogs for the Love of a Dog's beloved heart dog of 13 years, had died yesterday. And I was sad.

As the morning progressed, I found my thoughts drifting to two things: my (newly discovered) favorite quote about dogs and Molly, my late heart dog of 15 years. And I smiled a little inside.

So, Sue, although I am dreadfully bad at knowing what to say, I want you to know how sorry I am for your loss, and that one day soon, as the pain relinquishes its grip, I hope you will smile a little bit, too.

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Thank you to another blog friend, Melissa, at Darby & Pumpkin Daily, for sharing this quote last week. It is magnificent.

“God...sat down for a moment when the dog was finished in order to watch it... and to know that it was good, that nothing was lacking, that it could not have been made better.”