Tag archive for pets

Our first doggie birthday party happened on Clem’s 10 year birthday and Iris’s 5 year birthday. We finally succumbed to the party-pull and did the unthinkable a couple of weeks ago – invited our real-life friends to a party for our dogs in which they were encouraged, but not required, to bring dog toys and treats for showering upon said pooches in a blaze of birthday glory. We are officially THOSE people who treat their dogs like their kids, and well…. aren’t they?

We had party hats… OH we had party hats. There were even pup-cakes and a doggy friend (Pugsley) to help the tenacious two enjoy their special day. Our dogs LOVE their people, and that includes people who are important to their parents/pack leaders. The dogs were super pumped to spend the day with their friends and we generally let them misbehave a bit (but of course no begging, incessant butt-licking, humping, malicious stealing of other dog’s bones etc).

Pugsley won the pup-cake eating contest by a landslide and Iris made our eardrums bleed with the incessant squeaking of her new birthday toys. Clem was his normal self; genial, smiley and generally relishing the limelight. The pups were too pooped to see the last guests out the door, but I’m certain their dreams were speckled with gracious ear rubs, backyard frolicking, and memories of warm friend snuggles.

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I had a harried day. This morning I had to call and raise hell with the utilities company here in Austin. They can’t seem to comprehend an address change to the house next door. Then I got some bad news from my work regarding taking time off for SXSW (the music event of the year, mind you). And to top it all of, the new pair of pants I got in the mail, after returning them once because the sizing was wonky, stretched into huge pants while I was at work and I felt uncomfortable and icky all day.

It’s just been one of those days. It happens… and sometimes these days are the hardest to get past for me. They put me in a funk, a mood. And then my neighbor knocked on the door. She had just seen a car hit a cat in the street and drive away. The cat had hobbled up into a side yard and collapsed. My husband ended up taking it to the emergency vet, where the cat passed way.

It wasn’t my cat. It wasn’t my fault. In fact, we did everything we could to help it. But it just feels heart-wrenching. We put so much into taking care of our three pets. They’re our family, our pack, our loves. Sure, they’re animals… housepets. But they’ve taught me so much about myself, about other people and about love. I feel sorrowful for this tabby cat that died today, but I feel lucky to be around my little family, human and pet alike.

And I think we’re going to rescue another cat.

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Ahh. We’re now safely in Austin. All of our stuff made it here, our sanity (well mostly) made it here… and all of our pets are here, safe and sound. Moving across the country from Seattle to Austin with a 16′ Budget truck packed with all of our worldly possessions and one pit bull named Iris, an FJ Cruiser packed with two kitties known as Puck and Fey, one peanut butter dog named Clem and one stressed-out road-weary husband was hard.

And if all of the drama that follows that caravan around weren’t enough, our surly alpha kitty Puck slipped out of our west El Paso La Quinta hotel room and went missing. We searched around the hotel and the surrounding businesses for hours, shaking his food bowl and calling his name. Puck is a friendly cat, more like a dog than a cat, and is known to come when called. Puck did not come when we called his name. We subsequently freaked.

After many many tears, lots of hand-wringing and a heavy heart we left town, just KNOWING that if he was there and had heard us he would have come running. We were absolutely crushed… and attempted to drown our sorrows in El Paso’s H&H Car Wash’s tacos. The tacos were fabulous, and the several hardworking Mexican ladies were friendly and warm, but our Puck was still not with us.

We drove nine hours through the desert, from El Paso to Austin, weeping and lamenting and just feeling downright rotten. It was a tough ride, and suffice it to say when we finally showed up to our new house my face was puffy and red from the crying. While trying to maneuver the menagerie of boxes and furniture now stacked in our house, Puck was never far from our mind.

A day and a half later, at almost 1am, hubs got a phone call. On the other end I heard, “Uhh.. did you lose a cat?” Puck had escaped our room, run scared down the stairs to the first floor, slipped into another room and hid in a drawer. When the room’s new tenant arrived and heard Puck’s uncertain meows, he coaxed him out and called the number on Puck’s tag. THANK GOODNESS he had a collar and tag on.

Hubs subsequently got up at 6am, after only about four and a half hours sleep, and made the drive right back to El Paso, nine hours each way. Puck is back, ornery as ever, and causing trouble like he never left. I’ll put up with his drawer opening, his howling and his beating on the blinds for as long as he’s alive. Because even though he’s a royal pain, he’s OUR royal pain and we’re extremely happy to have him back ruling our roost.

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Puppy Clem

January marks the birthdays of both of our canine children, Clem and Iris. Felix Cumpleanos mi perros!

As of (approximately) the 6th of January, 2010, the love of our lives, Clem-dog, turned six years old! He has been the best thing that ever happened to us, besides each other, and we feel SOOO fortunate to be able to love on this cutey everyday.

Grown-Up Clem

Clem is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Husky mix. Brett got him from the Dallas SPCA and surprised me at work at the record store! We had only been dating about two months, but it was the best decision we ever made. He’s been a buddy dog, a best friend, a cuddly fluffy and a wonderful son.
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