Am I St. Francis?

Last Friday - One week after losing Smokey, a mysterious dog shows up. She looks vaguely familiar and I think she's the one that attempted to eat Smokey's food last fall and Smokey gave her a bloody nose for his trouble. While Smokey was here most animals stayed out of the yard. He was a pretty good watch cat -- Rarely getting in fights but often giving warnings to would be trespasser animals.

Now, you might ask if it's possible that this dog was the reason for Smokey's untimely death. While anything is possible, I have to say with complete certainty that she's not. First of all she has no marks on her other than an old scar on her nose (Which is what led me to believe she's the one that Smokey gave the bloody nose to those many months ago.). She's very docile. She doesn't seem to have an interest in cats other than to perk her ears when they fight nearby. The attention she gives to other dogs is mostly an incessant butt sniffing. She's only shown her teeth once to a dog that was a bit jumpy during one of these greetings. And Gerry even picked her up off the ground. If she was going to bitch at anything, it should have been that. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So this yellow lab/sheppard mix dog shows up last Friday. She's very sweet, I give her a piece of ham and say hello. Then I sit at my kitchen counter with the laptop to do work. She spends the rest of the day looking in at me through the kitchen window while camped out on the front porch. I go out to get the mail and I say hello and pet her. She grants me with some prancing and a wagging tail, followed by a little whimper as I sit back down at the counter and she resumes her vigil. Gerry came home from work around 9:30 p.m. and she greeted him with caution before wagging her tail and giving love. Figuring she must be hungry we give her a slice of pizza and some water. I worry that she's not going to go home and I put a blanket on the front porch because it's a chilly night. Gerry's mom named her Bowser because we thought she was a boy. After further inspection (Privacy be damned.) we find that she's in fact a girl.

Upon awaking the next morning she's still here. We start to call her "Blondie" before I decide that's too superficial sounding and Blondie then becomes "Honey". Honey chases the car as we go to get something to eat on Saturday. It had been raining and we left the garage open with some blankets. We came home around 8pm and Honey wasn't here. At this point we figure she's gone. I close the garage door when heading off to bed. Gerry discovered her on the front porch and opened the garage for her around 1 a.m.

By now we've assumed that she HAS to be a stray. But who would abandon such a beautiful dog. Sunday morning she's still on the front porch. She again chase the car as far as she can before heading back to the driveway. She continues this behavior anytime we both leave. If one of us remains behind she'll stay on the front porch. She knows the meaning of the commands "Sit" and "No", so she's at least had some sort of training. She's friendly and loving. Though she's cautious and a bit skittish over loud unexpected sounds. I could jump to all kinds of conclusions over that trait. Was she abused? She doesn't seem to have any evidence other than being skinny because she'd been abandoned. I ask neighbors and no one seems to know where she came from. So did someone dump her off. Did someone move and leave her behind?

It's now been four days. Honey is still camping out on the front porch with lots of blankets (I gave her the option of the garage but she seems to prefer the front door (Probably because that's the door we use the most). We've continued to feed and give her water and at this point I believe she's officially my responsibility and I plan to make a valiant attempt at finding her a new home and if not, take her to the no-kill shelter. Unfortunately I cannot keep her - aside from just not being ready for another animal in my life after the loses of the past year, there are other extenuating circumstances.

Know anyone looking for a really great dog -- before I become any more attached than I already am???

A Memorial to Smokey

I have a soft spot for animals. This is no secret. Certainly, when Outdoor Kitty aka Smokey or Smokey Smoke, found his way into my life last year it wasn’t long before he also wormed his way into my heart. I was never a cat person. Mostly because I am highly allergic to them and I knew that I couldn’t have them in my home. Of course Id’ make a bee line for my friends’ cats, giving them pets and love. And I wasn’t above giving food, water and affection to the strays or other outdoor cats that wandered into my yard. In general, I don’t believe in having outdoor pets, so I went against my better judgment when Smokey came along. His options were the no-kill shelter, where he would certainly be miserable, or here on this large plot of land away from any major roads. The garage was his initial home with plans of putting him in the upstairs bonus room on really cold nights.

I’m not exactly sure when it happened that Smokey came to be more of an indoor cat than an outdoor cat. I do know that I couldn’t seem to let him spend the colder winter days outside – Regardless of the fact that the garage stayed pretty warm. My initial thought was, have him in the hardwood area of the house, keep him off of the sofa where I sit, and remember to take my Allegra and Flonase daily! He never seemed to spend his nights upstairs though, since the door didn’t fully latch and he’d push it open before wandering into my bed. I didn’t seem to mind waking up with him next to my pillow or having him sit next to me on the couch, despite my eyes watering and the inability to breathe through my nose. I could almost hear my doctor shouting in my ear “This is not good for your lungs! There will be long term repercussions!” but I didn’t have the heart to shoosh him away.

Upon waking in the mornings he’d want outside to “make his rounds” and then he’d scratch on the door to come back in for food. Not long after he’d scratch on the door to go outside and do his business. In between inside and outside he’d sit near me “perking” and was more like a dog than any cat I’d ever seen. In fact he even growled at strangers or people I didn’t like. I grew to love the way he’d set his paw on my knee or arm when looking for a treat and how he’d sit on the side of the tub looking for water while taking a bath. (A large jar lid would be used to offer him warm water from the tap which he loved). If I was outside washing the car or doing yard work he’d hang out by my side. Seldom did he ever leave the property and on those rare occasions he didn’t go far. He’d venture to the edge of the field across our road and into our woods in the back yard. But usually he’d come when we call, or at the very least when we shook his treat bag.

Sadly Smokey-Smoke left us the Friday before last. He went out for his rounds early in the morning and didn’t come home. He was found later in the woods having died by some mysterious means (Though evidence points to a fight with another cat). He was buried in the woods with a blanket, treats and his toy mouse.

Out of the Loop

I know I've been out of the loop for the past month and a half. A lot of crappy stuff has been going on. First of all my Nana passed away the day before Christmas. A week and a half ago Outdoor Kitty, aka Smokey was found dead in the back yard woods. He died two weeks to the day before the anniversary of Kelsey's death (My beloved Shih Tzu puppy of 15 years). In between all of this I got slammed with work (Some of which I have yet to be paid for dang it! -Nothing like feeling like you're working for free!). Couple that with classes and house work and another stray dog having found it's way into my life and I've been busy, depressed, stressed and confused. Though busy tends to out weigh everything and keep me from thoughts of jumping from the nearest high place! More posts will follow - I've actually been writing a couple of things -Catharsis is good um hummm.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone ! A GUIDE FOR YOU FOR ST PATRICK'S DAY IRISH BEER TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE SYMPTOM CAUSE CORRECTIVE ACTION Feet cold and wet Glass Being held at incorrect angle. Rotate glass so that open end points toward ceiling Feet warm and wet Improper Bladder Control Stand next to nearest dog, complain about lack of house training Beer unusually pale and tasteless a. Glass empty. b. You're holding a Coors Lite Get someone to buy you another beer Opposite wall covered with fluorescent lights You have fallen over backward. Have yourself lashed to the bar Mouth contains cigarette butts, back of head covered with ashes You have fallen forward See above Beer tasteless, front of your shirt is wet a. Mouth not open b. Glass applied to wrong part of face Retire to restroom, practice in front of mirror Floor Blurred You are looking through bottom of empty glass Get someone to buy you another beer Floor moving You are being carried out Find out if you are being taken to another bar Room seems unusually dark Bar has closed Confirm home address with bartender. If staff is gone, grab a six-pack to go and hit the nearest fire escape door. Run. Taxi suddenly takes on colorful aspect and textures Beer consumption has exceeded personal limitations Cover mouth, open window, stick head outside Everyone looks up to you and smiles You are dancing on the table Fall on someone cushy-looking Beer is crystal-clear It's water! Somebody is trying to sober you up Punch him People are standing around urinals, talking You're NOT in the ladies' room Do not use urinal! Excuse yourself, exit and try the next door down the hall. Try to get phone numbers before exiting (optional) Hands hurt, nose hurts, mind unusually clear You have been in a fight Apologize to everyone you see, just in case it was them Don't recognize anyone, don't recognize the room you're in You've wandered into the wrong party See if they have free beer Your bedroom is painted gray, has a concrete floor and an interesting steel door. Toilet may be conveniently located next to your bunk a. You're in jail b. You're in the navy Sleep it off, you can always get out tomorrow. Don't talk to your new roommate, and under no circumstances sleep on your stomach You are dancing to a Village People song, and your partner is wearing leather chaps You're in a gay bar Keeping your back to the wall, edge toward nearest exit. Do not accept offers for back rubs Your singing sounds distorted The beer is too weak Have more beer until your voice improves Don't remember the words to the song Beer is just right Play air guitar