Morty checking out the Halibut Capital of the World - Homer, AK.
Two years today and I still miss him terribly. I guess you can't sleep entwined with a being for 19 years and not miss him when he's gone.
I had a dream about him and Shula (it's been over 3 years for her) last night: Both of them just suddenly appeared, looking exactly like they had, behaving exactly as they had. Tim acted as if nothing was strange. In the dream, I asked him how this could be possible. He said, "We wanted them to come back to us so much, they did." I was still skeptical until Morty pooped on the carpet. Then, I knew for sure it was him. Yup. That's my Morty-Pie.
Why wasn't Miles the super poodle in the dream? Well, living in Boulder all these years, I can't get away from some reincarnation theory - what do you want from me? The cats definitely still have stuff to work out in subsequent lives. They'll be coming back for sure - probably many, many times. The poodle? What's not to like? He has achieved the perfect State of Poo - an enlightened being. No need to come back here, anymore.
I was reminiscing with my cousin, Doug, about our dearly departed pets. He reminded me about the cat from his childhood, Lucifer.
Doug worked part-time at an animal shelter, so all of their four dogs and four cats came from there. Usually, they were deemed "unadoptable" and about to be put down. They assumed Lucifer got his name because he was all black, but Doug's family would find out just how precient the name would prove.
As sweet as he was with people, he had to be the alpha animal with all other species. He got into so many cat fights, Doug finally learned how to treat most of his wounds at home. But, "Lucy" was so smart, brilliant in fact, he would let Doug do anything he wanted to tend to the wounds, without any protest. Here's another example of how smart he was, from Doug:
I could never get over how one day, while I was brushing my teeth, he came into the bathroom and jumped into the empty bathtub, which he never did. When I looked to see what he was doing, I saw that he was sitting directly on top of the drain and peeing. I was so shocked. I didn't reprimand him at all, only marveled at what he was doing. Every drop went right down the drain. Sure enough, when I walked into the kitchen, I noticed that someone had accidentally closed the basement door completely so he couldn't get to his litter box. To this day, I can hardly believe the ingenuity on his part in figuring out what the next best option was.
And, this one:
Our next-door neighbor didn't have a fenced-in yard and they had a miniature poodle. So they strung a clothesline from their house all the way to a tree at the back of their yard. From the line, they hung a long leash so that the dog could travel all along the clothesline route and as far around as the leash would reach. Well, wouldn't you know, that bastard cat figured out exactly how far the leash could reach. I caught him one day entering the yard and flopping onto the ground. Then he began rolling back and forth on his back until the dog finally noticed him. The poor pooch went running at top speed from the other end of the yard and, sure enough, just as he got literally within no more than three feet of Lucifer, he reached the end of the line, so to speak, at full speed, and got snapped up and over onto his back with quite some force. The best part was, Lucy was so certain of his measurements, he never even flinched. If he could have, I'm sure he would have chuckled. He definitely enjoyed himself.
Favorite pet stories, anyone?
Comments (4)
Doreen what a wonderful piece about the magic we share with our pets. My old wheaten is starting to fail (tumor on spleen) and I'm just holding on as long as she's comfortable. So bittersweet. She is laying next to me snoring as I type this. I will miss that snoring.
Posted by Annette baesel | April 17, 2010 8:04 PM
Posted on April 17, 2010 20:04
So sorry to hear that, Annette. We did hospice care with Morty at home for him in the end, as long as he was pain-free. It's actually a really good memory for me, taking care of him like that, kind of giving back for all the joy he gave us. Bittersweet, indeed.
Posted by Doreen | April 17, 2010 8:42 PM
Posted on April 17, 2010 20:42
Hi, Doreen,
I'm so sorry to hear that your Pet Companions have gone! As I am reading your book right now, it just seems as if they were still there with you.
I used to have a Cat for 17 years, she passed away on her 21st Birthday. It's been 6 years since she's gone and still sometimes I dream about her. Still something very beautiful, warm and loving is missing in my life...
All the Best from Frankfurt, Germany
Yours, Antje
Posted by Antje | May 5, 2010 7:36 PM
Posted on May 5, 2010 19:36
Thanks, Antje. Wow - 21!
We feel so lucky that we had so much time with them and still think of them daily. Just last night, I left a few bites of my chicken dinner and both Tim and I said, "Too bad the pets aren't here." Morty especially loved chicken. It would have really irked him to see me throw it out.
Posted by Doreen | May 5, 2010 7:47 PM
Posted on May 5, 2010 19:47