Legionnaire's Disease and The Thousand Dollar Cat

While I was concentrating on deep breathing exercises to help me cope with the iminent bill for Delphi's surgery and stay at the vet's, my father was quietly cultivating Legionnaire's Disease. 

Masked by flu-like symptoms, he collapsed and was taken to hospital by ambulance before the gravity of his illness became known. He's been in ICU for the past 3 days. We've been 'phoned twice to come in since yesterday. They think they will be putting him on the ventilator shortly - possibly for 2 weeks. 

To say we are frightened for him is an understatement.

Our little ball of cuddles

Delphi, our little ball of cuddles, disappeared a few nights ago. 
This little cat does not stop purring. If you make eye contact with her from across the room it is enough to make her come running to you, trilling happily (she doesn't meouw without a purr in it and it sounds like a trill). And a lot of the time she is in our faces wanting cuddles even when we are busy. She is tiny, being half-Burmese, but is the most insistent of our three cats.
Yesterday morning she was back, with a broken leg, and obviously feeling pretty miserable. No purrs. Apathetic. Our little dynamo lying very still on the sheepskin where I put her.
A trip to the vet and xrays revealed a badly broken leg, with a piece of bone completely detached and floating about. She has to stay at the vet clinic for another three days so that they can assess her for any internal damage that may not have shown up on the xray.
And once she is assessed as otherwise being healthy, she will go into surgery to have the broken leg plated and the bit of bone removed.
I hope it all goes well. 
While at times we have called her the most annoying little cat on the planet when she has been demanding our attention (she doesn't take no for an answer and will climb onto our laps and thrust her nose into our faces to make her point), she is also the cuddliest little cat on the planet. I truly believe her allotted task during her time on earth is to simply love us. Which she does. In abundance. The house, despite the presence of two dogs and two cats, is missing her personality immensely. 
I can't wait to bring her home again.

(Even the vet melted when, in pain from having her leg felt during the consultation, Delphi started to purr)

Cyclone Keeper

There was the ugly gate we had to hastily erect

 

There was the newly planted William Shakespeare rose that got chewed

This is either Penstemon Firebird or Penstemon Blackbird. I won't know until it flowers because Keeper ripped them out of their pots. They got separated from their name tags and one died. This one is coming back. It will be a surprise !

Bergenia Bressingham Ruby also appears to be recovering slowly.

I do not think Lilac Katherine Havermeyer is ever coming back. Every single new leaf bud has been nibbled off.

Likewise the Ribbonwood sapling

The problem tom cat from two doors down doesn't visit any longer

And my cleaning rags don't stand a chance if he gets hold of them

but.....

How can you hate something that gives us a laugh many times each day over his complete idiocy - yes! he really does sleep in weird positions all the time.

   ... and gets along with Otter and is gentle with him despite his vastly superior size and weight...

 ...and goes all dreamy when you scratch his muzzle with one finger...

....and looks like this !

We knew there would be casualties when we opted for a puppy over a fully grown and trained dog. But the casualties are ones we can live with. And we have to keep reminding ourselves that this big dog who is ahead of all the other dogs in his obedience classes is still only 4 months old!!!

And when we stop to consider that, what we actually have is an exceptionally well behaved toddler. Smile.

What is this?

Do you ever load your photos onto your computer and find pictures like this one? I have absolutely no idea what it is.

**Blush**

I have a confession. 

Remember way back when I went vegetarian? Well, it didn't take. There. I've said it. It's out in the open and I already feel better about it. 

I enjoyed exploring vegetarianism and I enjoyed the food (except for tofu - I never did develop a taste for that), but the reality is that when my daughter returned home to live it was too problematic. She is not vegetarian. She loves meat, and that's fine. What was a problem was the two meals going on thing. I'd either have to cook two separate meals, or I'd have to wait while she did her meal before I could do mine - or vice versa - and when you work full time, time is a precious commodity that has to be carefully budgeted to make the most of it. So I had to don my serious thinking hat and decided that, since she is probably never going to become vegetarian, and since the whole time issue was becoming even more of an issue, that I would be the one to compromise. I won't lie and say I hate every mouthful, because I don't. Unfortunately, I suppose. And there is a part of me that wonders if I subconsciously used my daughter as a way to start eating meat again. I don't really think so, as I was very happy being vegetarian, but the doubt is there.

 So, that now being in the open, I can again start posting the kinds of things we like to eat. This was Chicken Maryland roasted with yams and parsnips. The chicken I bought at the supermarket, already coated. It looked nice and it was a good deal. It was absolutely delicious served with greens and a herb gravy. 

I have to say I feel honest again now, if a little bit of a flake.

Keeper

 

 

Keeper 8 weeks old

We are unashamedly animal people in our house. We have Otter the Chihuahua (4 years old), Tasha the half Burmese (8 years old), Delphi (half Burmese 8 months old) and Diego (black short hair 9 months old), and Ashlea's two rats, Heidi and Audrina. We love each and every one of them with all our hearts. 

When we suspected we might have prowlers it was the only excuse we needed to consider getting another dog. A big one. Not to raise as a guard dog, but just because big dogs are often just a deterrant in themselves due to their size. Because Otter is tiny and is prone to knee dysplasia we can't have rough and tumble games with him. Heck - he's only half the size of the cats!! But in order to get a big dog that would not be unmanageable for Otter we decided it either had to be a mature dog that is good with other dogs and cats and past it's puppy exuberance so that tiny Otter didn't get trampled....or, it had to be a puppy that we could teach how to be social with Otter without hurting him.

Firstly, we tried an adult dog. We found a beautiful neutered male Huntaway who belonged to a single mother of a little girl and a baby and who was finding having a big dog a struggle to look after. Chase was beautiful and loving and very receptive to commands and learning new things. We took him home on a two week trial.

 Chase was so lovely, and appeared to settle in well. After 3 days we were starting to make long term plans. He'd freaked out poor little Delphi on their first meeting but she was coming right. Otter nearly had a coronary and did nothing but bark for 24 hours until he virtually lost his voice. But then he started coming round too. We took the two dogs for walks together and things seemed good. But Chase bonded with us a little too well. On Day 4 he started preventing Otter from coming to us and by the end of the day his dominance was becoming stronger. 

We had made a pact that our existing pets came first and if whatever we took home had a negative impact on any of them, then it would be back to the drawing board. And, since that was the whole point of a trial period, Chase got returned to his owner -  who had missed him so much that she decided to try harder to make it work with him and two children.

At this point we were very interested in two other dogs who lived together and whose owners were moving overseas. One was a speyed female border collie cross, the other a neutered male boxer cross. Both had beautiful natures, but the owners wanted them to go to a home together and we could only take one. The owner's friend took them both on trial with the understanding that if it didn't work out we would take one on trial. It worked out, which was the best result for them.

We would have loved to find a rescue dog and had checked out two local animal shelters and the pound but found nothing suitable. They were all either too old or unsuitable breeds or temperaments. 

Back to the drawing board. We decided to go with Plan B which was to get a puppy to train to get along with Otter and the cats. And we found Keeper. His mother is a purebred Golden Retriever named Meg who got out while on heat. I fell in love with Meg's sweet personality when we went to see the puppies. The suspected father is the purebred black labrador who lives down the road from Meg. The vet is almost 100% certain that the puppies are Black Labrador and nothing else.

The litter of four - 3 boys and 1 girl

Keeper was the puppy who stayed to play when the others had tired of us and wandered away. He was the one who wanted cuddles. And he was the one we came home with at 8 weeks old.

9 weeks old

10 weeks old

Delphi 8 months and Keeper 10 weeks

12 weeks and determined to still fit on that sheepskin

12 weeks post dew claw removal - they stuck out badly!

14 weeks old with Otter 4 years old

Only 3 and a half months old, but not looking like a puppy any more

He is working out beautifully. He is respectful of Otter, sometimes forgetting himself but if Otter barks at him he remembers the pecking order and backs off. Two of the cats love him - older Tasha has always kept her distance from other animals. Keeper and Delphi have developed a special bond and smooch and play together. Of all three cats, she is the most kitten-ish in her behaviour, and I think this is why they get along so well. Keeper has finished a puppy obedience course and passed with flying colours. He has just begun an  adult obedience course and I expect he will do well at that too. He seems to catch on to commands quickly. He's been fully housetrained for a month now, and started sleeping outside in his kennel without a murmur. He is already a full part of our family and we wouldn't be without him. Even after he chewed my cellphone ha ha. Fortunately still operational - just not very pretty. 

So, welcome Keeper. We love you.

"Live without pretending.

Love without depending.

Listen without defending.

Speak without offending." 

 

A friend posted the above quote to my FB wall. She didn't know who created it, unfortunately, but it struck a chord with me as it pretty much sums up how I try to live my life. Does anyone know who said it?