Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Missing my Pal

  

I've never had a pal like PurrBall (PB) before. When we lived on the ranch, PB stayed outside in a really nice house that my dad's kids built for him out of an old stereo speaker. They insulated it and roofed it and PB loved it though he'd sneak in as often as he could to hang out inside the house when I was there. But mostly he'd do what he's doing in this picture which is climb up onto my back and sleep. 
     When we left the ranch, my parents decided to have him, uh, neutered and then to let him become an indoor cat. He still had his outdoor house but now he also had a bed inside and a litter box and his special dish that sat on the piano so neither Caesar nor I could get into it. Gosh, we had a good time.  Lots of times he slept in my bed with me.
     About three weeks ago, he didn't come inside one evening. No one thought much of it. It's summer and he has a bed outside, too. But he wasn't there in the morning wanting to get in. He wasn't there in the evening either. Finally, after a couple of days my mom put his picture up around the neighborhood. She asked the neighbors and even met a neighbor she hadn't met before to tell him about PB. She visited humane societies in two towns (we live between them) and hung up posters and put a notice on Craig's list, too. She got a call from Craig's list but the cat the lady found had clipped ears and as you can see, PB's ears are the way they were when he was born, only bigger.
      I miss him.  I sniff the door to his house each time I go in or out. My mom says the scent of something evokes memories (whatever evokes means). I just know that when I sniff there I wish him home. Some have said maybe he just went away to die but he wasn't sick. I would have noticed. There are coyotes around and owls too. Someone else said maybe he traveled the 160 miles back to our ranch but I'm here!  He wouldn't have gone all that way knowing the people and friends who loved him are waiting for him here.  Maybe he wanted an adventure and he'll be back one day. My mom hasn't moved his food bowl off of the piano yet and she hasn't put away his kitty litter box either though she may as well. Without PB there's nothing interesting in that box anyway. My mom says there's an old proverb that says the last thing lost is hope. I'm hoping.
     So the only thing I'd like to say is that if you have a friend you sometimes take for granted, don't. I just wish I could have one more day with my pal; one more day to let him sleep on my back, knead my side, sleep beside me. All I have now is a tiny little scent when I walk by his house. I don't know what RIP means on stones in those green places my mom calls cemeteries (I've gone with her to a couple), but for me it means Remembering is Painful. My mom says that in time, my memories of my friend will nourish and transform. I hope so. I hope they will for you too if you've lost a pal like PB. Until next time when I'm in a happier mood...
    Woof!  Woof!   Bo





Thursday, May 17, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me!

My mom has not allowed me at the computer for months!  But today is my birthday and she couldn't keep me away.  I'm six years old which of course is 42 in dog years. Still living at home....  Anyway, she bought me this "thing."  It looks like a soft pretzel but it's really hard.  I'm considering what to do with it in this top picture.
 
Here you can see I've decided it's worth chewing. It's made in Oregon whatever it is...some kind of rawhide I guess. My mom's friend said to always look for chew toys made in America, something about testing etc. So my mom got me this and a couple of bones. Gee, I live a great life even though, at 42, I shouldn't be living in the bedroom of my mom's house; but here I am.  Ceasar lives here too so it's not like I'm the only freeloader.  And she says we bring her great joy.
   She's been sick for three months coughing and hacking and trying all sorts of remedies. I'm hoping she'll be well soon because she's almost too tired to take me for walks. But at night when she says "Time for bed!" and all the lights go out and we follow her and my dad into the bedroom, she lets me jump up on the bed if only for a minute.  She nuzzles my face and scratches the side of my nose - a place that's hard for me scratch - and tells me how happy she is that I'm in her world. If she only knew...I feel the same about her.
    Hope your birthdays are happy times...thanks for stopping by.  Woof!  Woof!  Bo.