Thursday, January 9, 2014
Saying goodbye to beloved pets
Looking back at 2013 and saying goodbye to two or our fur family.
Discipline, that’s what it takes, and I’ve never been able to discipline myself very well when I’ve only my self to answer to. Then there’s the New Year’s resolution that I’ve never managed to keep. This year it was to be to write on my blog on January 1st and to continue to post regularly and often to keep my brain agile. Well… January 9th isn’t too bad. So here I am, trying to keep the ‘hungry ghost’ at bay with all the many important distractions that gobble up my time and keep me from my paints, drawing pens, pencils, and this blog.
All that aside, as I was taking a quiet moment to reflect on the year past, I realized that we lost two of our fur family. Our son’s old Pitt Bull or as he says, American Bull Dog, crossed the Rainbow bridge late last Spring.
Jupiter was a fine fellow and I’ll never forget the first time I met him. Our son was recovering from a dirt bike accident. When he was discharged from the hospital, he had Jupiter returned to him to keep him company. We gathered up food and whatever else we thought our son would need and went to pay him a visit. We were met by Jupiter, “Don’t look him in the eye,” we were warned and of course, I did. I saw only a white blur flying toward me. I was launched backwards into an old easy chair with 85 pounds of dog standing over me… licking my face. “I warned you,” said our guy. “He just gets a little over enthusiastic when he meets people. He really like you!”
The next year when I was caring for Jupiter while our son was away working, I was home with the flu and feeling too sick to move out of bed except for the necessity of making occasional visits to the bathroom. When I had to make the trip I was so unsteady, I was afraid I might feint. As I started out, I was suddenly aware that Jupiter was standing against my leg as if to steady me. I lowered my hand to his strong shoulders as he accompanied and supported me both in going and returning to my bed. Jupiter wasn’t trained to do this, it was just who he was. His behaviour prompted me to research the breed and learn a bit more about them. Most of what I had been told about these dogs was stereotypical nonsense… about how vicious they are and how much stronger their jaws are than that of other breeds. I learned that despite being bred to fight in the ‘pits’ and the name ‘bull’ attached to the breed referring to their use to manage dangerous bulls by biting and clinging to the massive animal’s nose, they were also known early in the last century as the “nanny dog.” Loyal and protective, upper-class families kept them to watch after their children. The silly dog with the circle around his eye in the original “Little Rascals” was a Pitty. There are many photographs and paintings of children with these dogs lovingly portrayed as furred family members.
When Jupiter first met our little dog we had been worried that a fight would ensue but at the same time, hopeful because our little Rutgar was still a pup and would most likely not be seen as a threat. Jupiter handled it in his own memorable doggie way. He had done a large poop on our lawn and before anyone could get to a shovel to clean it up, he rolled Rutgar right through the pile, covering almost every inch of the little dog in smelly feces. Gales of laughter and somehow I had been elected to pick up the stinky pup and carry him to the bathroom to spray him off and bathe him. After that, the two dogs became fast friends, reminding me of the old cartoon bulldog character, Spike, and his little buddy, “Go get ’em Spike. You can do it, you can do it,” said the little dog, bobbing up and down . I can look back now and laugh, but at the time it really wasn’t funny.
Jupiter made me feel safe when I was staying alone at the old homestead. I didn’t worry about strangers coming unannounced to the house and although we had regular visits from neighbourhood bears, Jupiter would stand on the deck and bark them away.
It’s been months since his passing but I still see him from time to time, curled up on the sofa, or standing next to the bathtub waiting for someone to turn on the water so he could drink from the tap… until I flick on the light switch… gone. We still miss him. He will always be remembered.
Then there was our son’s cat, Opal. She was a tough little black and white Hemmingway cat, polydactyl with 6 toes on each front foot. She and her sister, Emerald, ruled this house with an iron claw. Little dogs, big dogs, and other cats were summarily put in their places or chased away altogether by Opal and Emerald. Then, one day Opal didn’t come back. We have had no word of her. It was thought at the time that she might have hitched a ride in a friends truck as she really liked riding on top of vehicles but after phoning friends, no one recollected having seen her. We fear that she must have met with coyotes, wolves, eagles or any other predator that frequents these mountain forest. She surely wouldn’t be the first to be carried off.
She made Rutgar’s life a misery, always waiting to ambush him at the most inopportune moments. He was really afraid of her and with good reason. She could keep him trapped in a room and away from friends and food for lengthy periods of time. She used her claws and didn’t hold back. She was the obvious leader of the two cats and once she was gone, Rutgar was once again able to move about without checking every nook and cranny. Emerald will threaten him from time to time, but generally keeps her distance, except to sleep in his personal bed during the day when he’s not using it.
Emerald looked awful after loosing her sister and constant companion. She had pulled out most of her hair, all that she could reach. Then we brought home two orange tabby male kittens and tufts of her hair were floating everywhere in the house. I assumed she was doubly stressed. Her sister gone and two strangers had moved in. Unbearable.
Right after the first snow of winter, Rondo climbed straight up the cedar tree closest to the house. Up up and up he went and then he realized that he didn’t know how to get down. Our son had to prop up the ice covered extension ladder and climb up to rescue the young cat.
It was only a short time after that when I noticed that Emerald’s hair started to grow back in. I saw her jump on the kittens and give them swats whenever they came near and got too pushy with her then I saw her outside half way up a tree with both Rondo and Turk. I realized then that she had taken them on as hers and was teaching them everything she knows. All three cats hang out together now and she’s the Queen of the castle. After a bit of cat-nip all three engage in a swat fest, no harm inflicted, and Emerald now has a thick velvety coat.
I will attempt to post pictures but don’t hold your breath. After many attempts to get ‘high-speed’ we are still on slow dial-up. Cheers to all!
Discipline, that’s what it takes, and I’ve never been able to discipline myself very well when I’ve only my self to answer to. Then there’s the New Year’s resolution that I’ve never managed to keep. This year it was to be to write on my blog on January 1st and to continue to post regularly and often to keep my brain agile. Well… January 9th isn’t too bad. So here I am, trying to keep the ‘hungry ghost’ at bay with all the many important distractions that gobble up my time and keep me from my paints, drawing pens, pencils, and this blog.
All that aside, as I was taking a quiet moment to reflect on the year past, I realized that we lost two of our fur family. Our son’s old Pitt Bull or as he says, American Bull Dog, crossed the Rainbow bridge late last Spring.
Jupiter was a fine fellow and I’ll never forget the first time I met him. Our son was recovering from a dirt bike accident. When he was discharged from the hospital, he had Jupiter returned to him to keep him company. We gathered up food and whatever else we thought our son would need and went to pay him a visit. We were met by Jupiter, “Don’t look him in the eye,” we were warned and of course, I did. I saw only a white blur flying toward me. I was launched backwards into an old easy chair with 85 pounds of dog standing over me… licking my face. “I warned you,” said our guy. “He just gets a little over enthusiastic when he meets people. He really like you!”
The next year when I was caring for Jupiter while our son was away working, I was home with the flu and feeling too sick to move out of bed except for the necessity of making occasional visits to the bathroom. When I had to make the trip I was so unsteady, I was afraid I might feint. As I started out, I was suddenly aware that Jupiter was standing against my leg as if to steady me. I lowered my hand to his strong shoulders as he accompanied and supported me both in going and returning to my bed. Jupiter wasn’t trained to do this, it was just who he was. His behaviour prompted me to research the breed and learn a bit more about them. Most of what I had been told about these dogs was stereotypical nonsense… about how vicious they are and how much stronger their jaws are than that of other breeds. I learned that despite being bred to fight in the ‘pits’ and the name ‘bull’ attached to the breed referring to their use to manage dangerous bulls by biting and clinging to the massive animal’s nose, they were also known early in the last century as the “nanny dog.” Loyal and protective, upper-class families kept them to watch after their children. The silly dog with the circle around his eye in the original “Little Rascals” was a Pitty. There are many photographs and paintings of children with these dogs lovingly portrayed as furred family members.
When Jupiter first met our little dog we had been worried that a fight would ensue but at the same time, hopeful because our little Rutgar was still a pup and would most likely not be seen as a threat. Jupiter handled it in his own memorable doggie way. He had done a large poop on our lawn and before anyone could get to a shovel to clean it up, he rolled Rutgar right through the pile, covering almost every inch of the little dog in smelly feces. Gales of laughter and somehow I had been elected to pick up the stinky pup and carry him to the bathroom to spray him off and bathe him. After that, the two dogs became fast friends, reminding me of the old cartoon bulldog character, Spike, and his little buddy, “Go get ’em Spike. You can do it, you can do it,” said the little dog, bobbing up and down . I can look back now and laugh, but at the time it really wasn’t funny.
Jupiter made me feel safe when I was staying alone at the old homestead. I didn’t worry about strangers coming unannounced to the house and although we had regular visits from neighbourhood bears, Jupiter would stand on the deck and bark them away.
It’s been months since his passing but I still see him from time to time, curled up on the sofa, or standing next to the bathtub waiting for someone to turn on the water so he could drink from the tap… until I flick on the light switch… gone. We still miss him. He will always be remembered.
Then there was our son’s cat, Opal. She was a tough little black and white Hemmingway cat, polydactyl with 6 toes on each front foot. She and her sister, Emerald, ruled this house with an iron claw. Little dogs, big dogs, and other cats were summarily put in their places or chased away altogether by Opal and Emerald. Then, one day Opal didn’t come back. We have had no word of her. It was thought at the time that she might have hitched a ride in a friends truck as she really liked riding on top of vehicles but after phoning friends, no one recollected having seen her. We fear that she must have met with coyotes, wolves, eagles or any other predator that frequents these mountain forest. She surely wouldn’t be the first to be carried off.
She made Rutgar’s life a misery, always waiting to ambush him at the most inopportune moments. He was really afraid of her and with good reason. She could keep him trapped in a room and away from friends and food for lengthy periods of time. She used her claws and didn’t hold back. She was the obvious leader of the two cats and once she was gone, Rutgar was once again able to move about without checking every nook and cranny. Emerald will threaten him from time to time, but generally keeps her distance, except to sleep in his personal bed during the day when he’s not using it.
Emerald looked awful after loosing her sister and constant companion. She had pulled out most of her hair, all that she could reach. Then we brought home two orange tabby male kittens and tufts of her hair were floating everywhere in the house. I assumed she was doubly stressed. Her sister gone and two strangers had moved in. Unbearable.
Right after the first snow of winter, Rondo climbed straight up the cedar tree closest to the house. Up up and up he went and then he realized that he didn’t know how to get down. Our son had to prop up the ice covered extension ladder and climb up to rescue the young cat.
It was only a short time after that when I noticed that Emerald’s hair started to grow back in. I saw her jump on the kittens and give them swats whenever they came near and got too pushy with her then I saw her outside half way up a tree with both Rondo and Turk. I realized then that she had taken them on as hers and was teaching them everything she knows. All three cats hang out together now and she’s the Queen of the castle. After a bit of cat-nip all three engage in a swat fest, no harm inflicted, and Emerald now has a thick velvety coat.
I will attempt to post pictures but don’t hold your breath. After many attempts to get ‘high-speed’ we are still on slow dial-up. Cheers to all!
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