Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Love, Loss, and a new meow





They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as we're called one by one,
the chain will link again.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our sweet TSK made his journey OTRB  on the afternoon of
December 13, 2016
He had gone in for dental xrays and possible tooth extraction.
I dropped him off at the vet in the morning, after cuddling with him in the car for a bit as we were a little early. I have still not washed the jeans and shirt I was wearing that day.
I received a call from the vet around noon stating that he did have to have 2 teeth pulled and that everything went well, that we could pick him up at 3 that afternoon.
A short time later the vet called again saying they were having trouble waking him up.
That they were agitating him to get him to start waking. That the drugs used on him were the same as he had 18 months prior when he had 7 teeth pulled. They would keep me posted and someone was with him constantly. I offered to go down there to see if I could help wake him, but the offer was declined. The next call from the vet was that they were messing with his ears and it seemed that he was trying to respond. She was encouraged by this. She would keep us posted. Sadly, the last call was a few minutes later. He had arrested, they did CPR, but he didn't respond. He was gone. The vet thinks that he had a heart issue we didn't know about or perhaps threw a clot.
This was the worst day of our lives. We were in shock. How could this have happened?
We went to the vet hospital to say our last goodbyes to our sweet boy. We took Daffy with us so she would know.
Our little family had been torn asunder. Our home was now very sad. For such a little kitty, TSK had a huge presence, always wanting to be involved in everything we were doing. It was him, not Daffy, that met us at the door when we came home. We will love him and miss him forever.

A huge thank you to our friends, family, and neighbors for your sympathy and support.
We have received so many sympathy cards, from all over the world, and special gifts from friends. A tree was even planted in his memory! It helps in our sorrow to know just how loved our sweet TSK was, and is.
So many of you made donations in TSK's memory to the Bend Spay + Neuter Project where I volunteer. The total was a very large amount and we can't thank you enough.


 

Now I would like to introduce you to Mitzi.
 
We didn't think we would be ready for another kitty just yet.
But Daffy was missing her playmate. Daffy doesn't know how to play with other dogs, but she would play with TSK. TSK was the only one she played with. She had been napping in the spots TSK would lately.... We knew she was missing her BFF.
So when my friend Vikki, and fellow BSNP volunteer, offered us Mitzi, feral kitten she had socialized, we gave it some thought. 
Mitzi was trapped by Kim, a feral/community cat trapper for BSNP.
She was trapped in LaPine in November while Kim was doing her colony for the COCA day.  She brought in about 20 adults and 8 kittens, some 8ish weeks old and some 6ish weeks old.  But there were two adults she didn't catch. So she took a drop trap back that afternoon to try to catch them.  When she got back, Mitzi was running around. Kim threw down a typical trap, & Mitzi ran right in. (She was about 8 weeks old then) Kim never did catch the other adults.
Kim also socializes feral kittens that have a good chance to be adopted at the local Humane Society shelters. Vikki had been wanting to try her hand at socializing as well. So Mitzi (later named Mitzi by Vikki) went to Vikki's house. Vikki had a large crate set up and over about a month and a half Mitzi went from being a scared wild kitty to a sweet purring kitten that you could now pet and play with. 
Vikki did such a great job with her, I hope she will continue to do more kittens.
When the time came for Vikki to take Mitzi to the shelter she just couldn't do it. She didn't want her to be raised by a stranger... She thought maybe Mitzi could help us not be so sad, that we would be able to give her the loving home she was hoping for her.
So we brought Mitzi home. Crate and all.
She has done surprisingly well! She has become more and more comfortable here in the few days she has been here. She and Daffy are very interested in each other. I think they will end up being great pals. She is using the big litter box and the feeding station we had to create to keep Daffy from the cat food. She is having great fun running through the house, tail held high, exploring her new surroundings. 
It's been quite a while since I had a kitten, she is about 3 months old now, and she is very entertaining. She has brought some smiles to us, has helped with the sadness the 3 of us have. She has the sweetest little girly meow. She was probably born in October, TSKs birthday month as well.
Thank you Kim and Vikki for giving us this sweet girl.
No one will ever replace our beloved TSK, our heart cat, but there is room in our hearts for this precious little kitten.
(the first few pix are from when she was with Vikki)

💗 🐾 🐱

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Bang! Bang!


Jim and I are enrolled in the Bend Police Citizens Academy.
You can read about it here BPD Citizens Academy

Oregon has new animal abuse laws on the books this year. In anticipation of implementing these laws, Bend City Police has asked for help from Bend Spay and Neuter Project, where I volunteer. If they go out on an animal abuse case, or a hoarding situation, they need help from a veterinarian, a photographer, & people who know how to physically handle the animals. (cops are not trained how to handle a feral cat). In order to be liability covered on such calls, Bend Police requires that they be graduates of Citizen's Academy.

So far we have had 6 of the 9 classes. We have learned allot about our town and the Bend PD.
We have enjoyed the classes...and seeing the awesome K9 officers!
Today was an optional class.... shoot a gun at the PD shooting range.

I have never held a gun, shot a gun, been anywhere near a gun. Neither has Jim.
In the class, us 2 and one other person had never had any gun experience. Oregon sure is a gun-toting state! But is was quite the experience and I'm glad we went. Can't say I want to do it again but in this controlled area with police instructors around it was fun.

Here are some pix of the day....

and a short video here
Not sure about this ear-wear... Looks like Mickey Mouse Ears!

 Jim is getting instruction from Officer Scott Vincent
 And away he shoots!

 He did great! Look at his target!
 Our friend, and fellow BSNP volunteer getting some pointers.
 Vikki is an experienced shooter, so of course she did great!
Got my clip, ready to go! 



Waiting my turn..... yikes!
 Getting instruction from Sgt Adam Junke



And away I shoot! First shot was dead center!
 
Adam telling the class that I did great, having no experience with guns, I hit the target every time.

Me and my target....... 
Next time you are attacked by a piece of cardboard, I'm your marksperson!

Jim also tried one of the 'Big Guns' they had... A fully automatic M something.... The SWAT team gun, with a suppressor. 
He looks pretty fierce! I wouldn't mess with him! 

All in all it was very informative and fun. Glad we went.



Saturday, November 21, 2015

Cat Cubes!


TSK got a box in the mail today!!!
A box inside a box....
A way cool Cat Cube!

 First Daffy and TSK had to check out the parcel...

 TSK: "all seems to be in order....open it!"

 Wow.... look at all this stuff!

"All seems to be here... Let's build it!!"

TSK: "I think this piece goes in that piece there..."

Check out MyFourCats.com website
and on Facebook My Four Cats Design
and on twitter @MyFourCats1

These cubes are awesome! What cat doesn't like a cardboard box? There are many patterns to choose from, something to match any home decor.
It was super easy to put together. The instructions are easy to read and very concise.
Even when you have feline help!

Here are some pix of TSK in his new Cat Cube tower...








I know this is going to be one of TSK favorite places to hang out.
Thanks MyFourCats for making such a great Cat Cube!


Thursday, November 5, 2015

Practicing Ashtanga



So..... back in March we started Ashtanga Yoga.
With not a lot of yoga experience....ok, hardly any experience.
Bend Ashtanga Yoga was recommended to us after our
 Pilates instructor moved her classes out of town.
If you are unfamiliar with Ashtanga you can read about it HERE
(though there are tons of websites out there this seems to be an easy read)
We have been practicing for 8 months now under the tutelage of
our instructors Julie and Dayna, who are wonderful.
We are now at the point were we are doing the full Primary Series as you start off learning it slowly. Adding more asanas in to your practice as time goes by. I won't say adding more asanas into your practice as you master them because you never master them.
Ashtanga is a 6 day a week early morning practice.
Sunday is the led Primary Series class and Monday - Friday is Mysore style.
Mysore can be a bit weird at first. You are in a room with others doing their practice.
It's not led. You do it at your pace. So the person on the mat next to you might be doing the same series as you but they are at a different place in the series. Folks come and go during Mysore.
It's self practice in a group setting.
But now it's no big deal!

And of course we have gathered some books on Ashtanga...

Mysore at home is always fun!

Check out this short video. 
It's amazing what this man can do. He is practicing the advanced series.

Daffy practices her SitDownAsana

And of course it's fun to practice your Sirsasana in the park

And surely this must be 8-Limbed!

wikipedia link on ashtanga yoga

Our practice is a journey. And where our bodies are today in our practice is the perfect place to be.
Tomorrow they could be in another place, and that will be perfect too.

Julie asked her students to comment on this months Newsletter 'What Ashtanga means to us'
It means many things to us, and I'm sure since we are still new at it what is means will be ever evolving.
With discipline and  focus we practice within our own limitations.
The balance and flow and the movement and stillness of our practice.
We are observant and we concentrate with our directed gaze.
Ending the practice with contentment and inner peace.

Namaste.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

CHIMPS!!


In addition to all the other attractions and activities in Bend
 there is also a sanctuary for chimpanzees. Today we visited Chimps Inc 
You can read about them here:



Do you see the 2 chimps in the window awaiting our arrival?
They have enclosed walkways from the indoor area to outside areas.


Lesley, founder and director, is giving a talk



They also have 2 lynx but was so warm today they were sleeping where is was cool...


One of the indoor play areas

these warning signs are all over....





The garden where the chimps can point to what treat they want!


working on enrichment....trying to figure out how to get the plum..


There is a large pasture out front... 2 mares with babies!


and no blog post is complete without a pix of these 2..
a little frolicking....
what.... we weren't doing anything....