pets...

 Eduardo on the left      Lina on the right








Rhonda Jean from 'Down... to-...earth' blog wrote today about her pets. More specifically she wrote about caring for elderly pets. My 2 cats are not classed as elderly; Eduardo Felipe is 9, (aka Eddy) and Paolina Melody (aka, Lina or Leenie) is 13. Eddie really belongs to my daughter J but he's lived with me for most of his life. Lina stayed with my first husband when I moved out of the family home in 2000 as he (Husband #1) wouldn't let me take her. In 2003 I got her back as H#1 was going interstate and didn't want her. DH, who was 'The boyfriend' then insisted that she come and live with us as there was no way he could bear to see her 'put down'. He said this despite having 2 cats and a dog here already. (I certainly knew then that he was a 'keeper'!!!) Sadly Merlin the cat and Ozzie the dog have 'gone to live in Jesus' garden' since then. (That's where I told my children when they were little, the pets went when they died)

In my childhood we always had a cat as my mum loved cats. The first one lived to a ripe old age of 21. We had got him when I was 1 and he was 6 and needed  a new home which my mother did provide of course. I grew up as an only child so that cat became my confidante etc . When I married at 21, I continued to keep cats as pets. One particular cat stands out for her love and devotion to our family...Holly Victoria, a beautiful calico and white. She died at 17. Another beloved cat, Linus Charles, was a stray who we nursed back to health and he grew to be a very big cat, grumpy with adults but brilliant with children. He lived with us for 19 years and the vet felt he was about 3 when we rescued him. WWe called him Linus because he sucked blankets!
It wasn't until I was in my 40s that I got my first dog. She was a Lhasa Apso which came from a litter that a friend had bred. My first husband got 'custody' of her and she went with him interstate. So when I met 'DH to be' I was able to share his dog Ozzie with him! She was diagnosed with heart disease a few years ago and died suddenly this last Easter. Like in Rhonda Jean's blog we had made adjustments to make our elderly dog's life more comfortable. It is extremely sad when they die but the joy they bring throughout their life I think makes up for it. Both the cats I have now do not really like being cuddled but every now and then they tolerate a cuddle. Eddie runs to meet me when I get out of the car. He is a very 'talkative' cat. If my daughter came and said she could take him now it would be very hard indeed to let him go...