Pessimistic about the world? Have you written off activism as a dead end? Think again. Thanks to the courageous efforts of one activist at a time, we’ve come a long way since the hellish first days of AIDS. Once upon a time, being HIV positive meant early death and having to endure enormous bigotry.
The world is better for having had Mooshie Cat in it.
Dear, dear Mooshie, you are sorely missed. Time with one’s loved ones is never long enough, but how very much I wish I’d had just one more time with you to say goodbye, to thank you for being such an incredible little mate.
You were the spiritual mother of my husband. I know this because you took your self-appointed role quite seriously. That first meeting, you signaled to my soul-mate that he was yours. You reached your arm clear to your armpit, past the shelter cage bars, to swat at him. Repeatedly. Moreover, you sent your angel/employee (who also worked for Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA), to urge us that your days were numbered.
You arrived home cuddled in my honey’s arms. You lay in his lap for hours, your locomotive purring tireless. As soon as you made it clear that you were family, you’d stand on your hind legs to slam a hefty (albeit with claws sheathed) kangaroo one-two punch at your sister, whenever your human son would pet her for even a second.
Now your spirit, whether in heaven or reincarnated, must be playing soccer. You’d command your ‘son” (you considered me a lousy player) to lob crumpled paper balls your way, for you to whack-whack-whack them across the room and back to him.
Eventually, you graduated to batting crickets — then mice — then small birds. I doubt our local tiny critters mourns your loss as we do. Your later choice to retire to my mother’s bed must have cause them to celebrate. Not so for my mother’s gentleman cat who you evicted from his formerly cozy stead.
Until all but the last few weeks of your seventeen-ish years, despite your loss of all but one tooth, your appetite was vigorous. From Cheerios and crackers to olives and cucumbers, you enjoyed everything so long as your beloved people dined on it too.
Your long-departed sister, for whom you had neither patience nor fondness, allowed anyone to pet her. You, unlike her, saved your affection for just your intimates.
You made us feel truly special, dear Mooshie. You, our lovely girl, were the most special of cats. Rest in peace, beautiful soul.
Mooshie the Wonder Cat.
Dear reader, here and here and here is more about Mooshie. Do you have a non-human friend you miss a lot?
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Who will your search turn up? Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com
Writers and readers alike, for times we’d like to look into our histories, author Margaret Lossi offers tips for how to get started. My two novels are works-in-progresses! Lossi says that when it comes to looking up one’s family background, be prepared for surprises…
Warning: family history can lead to emotional discoveries.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but you begin at the end! That is, you begin with you.
Check your birth certificate, verify your parents. It may seem like a given, but just sometimes people find they are adopted, or their mum is really their grandma. It pays to check.
Check your parents birth certificates, to verify your grandparents. Then work your way back through the generations, verifying birth certificates.
These first steps build the strong foundation of your family tree, so worth doing well.
It is not a case of how far back you can go, but the quality of your data
You may wish to answer a family question. I knew my parents were second cousins, so wanted to find out about this link. Set yourself a goal to work towards. Whatever your motivation, make sure you verify each…
This morning I stayed in bed till late. I was awake, but I didn’t want to get up to a house without Pierre in it.
Yesterday I had to put my dog down. Such a gentle euphemism for murder. To put one to sleep. My dear, dear dog-man trusted me, yet I tricked him. First by lulling him into thinking it was a normal day by asking my husband to roast a chicken at home that delighted his nose and soothed his belly. But afterward a vet arrived. She knotted a tourniquet at his rear thigh, shaved an area below it, and injected a sedative. His fitful gasping evened, his pain-blinded stare softened. Amid caresses and loving murmurs, the vet administered a second shot to finish him off.
My dear Pierre at 9 months old.
But Pierre lingered within his peaceful half-sleep. So another shave. Then a third shot to a different leg. That one finally killed him.
Nicer ways exist to frame this, but my heart won’t listen to the many fine arguments for how, whether, and when.
No, I don’t know of a better way to have done it. When his kidneys began to fail, and arthritis increasingly ravaged his days and nights, I promised us two things; he’d never take another trembling ride to a vet, and he’d never be wet again (he was a Labrador mix one-of-a-kind who hated water).
Fortunately, we could afford to have a vet to visit our home for those final injections. Fortunately, I could be with Pierre, my sweetest, most uncomplicated of friendships and loves. Fortunately, he’d lived a good long life, as dog lives go.
Pierre at 8 weeks old.
All the same, this was the awfullest decision I hope ever to make.
Life is beautiful, merciless, humbling.
Pierre (right) with his twin sister.
As much as our recent time together — these months of arranging throw rugs, moving furniture, closing doors so he wouldn’t get tangled among legs or be locked into rooms or slip and not be able to get back up, all which upset him to no end — these months of his hobbled struggle to follow me everywhere and to share walks with his sisters even though he’d fall within a few steps from home — this stoic period when, despite his waning appetite, he’d eat all that my family hand fed him while I experimented with healing remedies and weight gaining foods — this era when we set ramps and nudged him up and I learned the trick to gathering his 55 pounds into my arms to navigate down — these weeks of carrying him outside to pee in the middle of the night because the shame of soiling his diapers showed naked in his eyes (debilitated kidneys need volumes more water to compensate)…
Pierre (right) in better times.
and even though yesterday was the worst, today not a whole lot better…
I am thankful for every moment we shared. Hopefully, he knew he was loved…
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Our best friends are those who cheer us through our ups and cheer us up through our downs.
Mr. Gentleman Dog is aging. Growing older is a gift, but it extracts a price. For some of us, the cost is higher than for others.
In Mr. Gentleman Dog’s case, arthritis is wearing away his hips. And his kidneys don’t work as well. Rather than soil stuff, several times a night he rouses himself to ask to go out into the cold and pee.
But every day, he still has plenty of moments that he enjoys. He still loves treats, short walks, and cuddles.
And he loves the warmth of friendship…
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The holiday dilemma: what do you get for the person who has everything?
Perhaps something goofy like slippers that sing Rock Around the Clock, or something extravagant like a set of diamond encrusted napkins rings, the kind of thing that becomes an expensive party joke. Maybe a bauble like a garden statue of lighted snowmen or a set of holiday themed coffee mugs, useless most of the year because, well, they’re holiday themed and who wants to drink coffee in July with Rudolph’s red nose stenciled on it? We can get truly original: a dozen bottles of wine with personalized labels, Humphrey Malarkey Family Reserve Chardonnay, so it looks like Uncle Humph became a boutique vintner on Christmas Eve. Another possibility is the very exclusive Himalayan Cilantro Sea Salt Spa Scrub with Acai Crystals – imagine how much fun Great Aunt Agnes will have trying to figure out…
It all began with a brush, some fish oil, and some turmeric. For good measure, some digestive enzymes too.
About a month ago, I cat-sat a 15ish-year-old cat for a week. She was bony, flaky skinned, clumpy-furred, and lethargic. It as just as well that her ‘usual people’ didn’t tell me they expected her to die of old age while they were away.
Kitty ate, drank, and partook of her litter box normally. After a couple days of checking in on her twice daily, her snow drifts of dandruff, her languor, and her scrawniness nagged at me.
Day three, I took action. With each morning and evening visit, I began three things:
Vigorous brushing with a slicker brush, the kind with the bent wires.
A capsule of fish oil squirted into her mouth twice a day too.
A capsule of turmeric sprinkled over her kibble.
Each day, she looked significantly better; livelier, not nearly as angular, and her dandruff had dwindled to snowflakes. Now that her ‘regular people’ continue the protocol, she’s prettier than ever!
Wise and gray make sweet and black all the lovelier.
The following week, I took one of my dogs for a rabies vaccination. After the vet administered the shot, he started slicker brushing my dog. He said, “All dogs and cats need a thorough brushing daily.”
“Doesn’t it hurt short-hairs and geriatrics?”
He answered, “Once they get used to it, they love it. It helps their skin and circulation.”
What a difference! With each brushing, my dogs shed less hair and skin flakes. Today, their coats practically glow with shine and good health.
Digestive enzymes came into play when my dogs’ halitosis and flatulence were becoming chronic. After meals, one of them would pace and pant for hours, her stomach gurgling. When I saw digestive enzymes on sale at the pet store, I decided to try dosing them with my own. Each meal, I split a tablet between the dogs. Now their breath smells much better and they settle quickly after meals!
Like with anything I give my dogs, I started small when testing the try fish oil, turmeric, and digestive enzymes. Then I looked for loose stools, which would indicate that I should cut back. Cats and dogs alike took to vigorous brushing right away, the proof in how they try to elbow each other out of the way once I get started.
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Far be it from me to pretend that I’m an expert in animal health. However, the following remedies have done wonders for my dogs as well as my mom’s cats!
My sweet dogs are thirteen and a half. The day they don’t want to chase balls, go for walks, and bark at the postal carrier, I’ll be worried. Every day, they teach me more about how to grow older with grace. Every day, I do my best to make aging easier on them.
While I know dogs and cats aren’t physiologically exactly like humans, for an extra safety precaution, I often try remedies on myself before enlisting them. In addition, I start off slowly and keep a close watch for possible overdosing and any bad reactions.
Turmeric
This wonderful golden root, touted to aid just about everything, has helped heal my broken knee. Unexpectedly, turmeric also helps me sleep better.
For the past few months, I’ve been splitting an extra high potency turmeric capsule among my pets, sprinkling the contents over their meals. Within two days, they were greeting the day with renewed spryness!
Cod Liver Oil (super fine grade)
About the same time, I found I was constantly wiping gooey/crusty schmutz from the corners of their eyes.
Muck in my sweetie’s eyes.
Their eyes are different from ours in a variety of ways:
They have three eyelids!
The placement of their eyes depends on the shapes of their faces and noses.
Their rods-to-cones ratio differ from ours.
We see color and close-up better. They see movement better.
Ultra fine grade cod liver oil squeezed into canine eyes, I read somewhere, could refresh their eyes and possibly slow cataract formation.
Hmmm …oil in the eyes?! The idea took time to warm up to. With great trepidation (and secrecy from dear ones who would surely have been horrified) I squeezed some into my own eyes.
Always use great care with your pets.
Lo and behold, down to the fishy smell, it was no big deal. The wee bit of blurry vision righted within minutes, and there was no sting. Whew!
Moving onto my furry beloveds, to my supreme delight, within two days, their eyes were clear — plus!! — they could see better! As a result, they’re more responsive and obviously happier! The wonderfulness of this makes tears spring to my own eyes!
Mondays have become ‘oil days.’ They’re never thrilled by the application, but any dog with Labradors in it aims to please. All the more so as they age.
