Feline Follow-Up Friday: Where are they now?

Two weeks ago I devoted a post to cats and poetry. To some it might seem strange but let's remember I'm an English teacher.  If you haven't yet read the post, I hope you'll check it out here. I explain how I got Jenny's name and share many of my favorite pictures of her. I also include the poem "The Old Gumbie Cat" by TS Eliot. 

 I have to admit, I was feeling quite erudite after writing that post, and I realize TS Eliot may be a bit much for some people. Today I'm changing pace with another excellent book of poetry. Check it out.

If you haven't read the book yet, you're missing out! Click on the picture and it will take you to Amazon so you can buy it. Jenny was quite interested.

The table of contents is pretty thorough.

After the first page I was already laughing.

We may not want to admit it, but there's a very good chance a number of our cats are thinking this precise thought. 

This one really hit close to home for those of us with more "regal" cats.

I hope it didn't give Jenny any ideas.

And finally, I really enjoyed the poem below.  Every night while I sleep Wiley winds himself around my head and shoulders, while Jenny settles in on my feet. Then about half an hour before the alarm goes off, Jenny starts trying to wake me, because she's hungry. Sometimes she bites my feet!  Then I yell "Ow!" and Wiley barks or steps on my face trying to get closer to her to see what she's doing. Needless to say I'm always tired!

I'd like to think Jenny is a poet at heart. Wiley doesn't seem like the type. If he were artistic I think it would be more like a stage actor or something. Handsome but needy. Talented but demanding. 

If you don't read the blog regularly or you're new to it, you might not know about what happened when I took Jenny and her kittens in, but this post explains how I came to terms with having to give those precious kittens away. It's also filled with kitten pictures so if you don't check it out you are really missing some "Awwwwws."  For some time now I've been wanting to follow up on these little guys. Here they are before:

Gorgeous right? I'm not sure how old they are here but probably about 3 months. 

Now check them out!  This is Finley.

He's growing up! He's long, just like Jenny. He's probably about 9 months old now.   And this is Smalls.

Smalls always was the first one at the food dish when he started eating solid food.  

As you can see, both boys are being very well cared-for at their not so new homes.  Maybe I'm okay at this fostering business. Now if only we could get Wiley on board with other dogs. Considering he was afraid of this Bassett Hound puppy the other day at the baseball game I'm not holding my breath.

Poor Wiley. What I wouldn't give to meet whoever had him first and messed up so badly.  I would have a very tough time stopping myself from stepping on their face for abusing him though, so I'll just be grateful that, like Jenny, God sent him our way and he's part of our family now. 

Thank you for your time today. I know it was a long post. I had to make up for lost time. If you have any cats you'd like to share for Feline Friday send me their pictures. Same goes for rescue dogs too! Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

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A Book About Bert

If your dog could honestly understand every word you said, what would you say to it? What if you could go back in time to talk to some of your fur kids who have already crossed the Rainbow Bridge? Was there anything left unsaid?  T. H. Waters has considered those questions, and her response is found right here in the e-book "Letters to Bert: A Loving Tribute."  

She contacted me a little while ago about her book, and since that time I have wanted to share it with you but every time I tried to look at it I got too weepy.  So. . .  consider this your warning.  If you are the crying type you'll probably shed some tears over this. But it is a beautiful sentiment and powerful writing, not to mention a lovely idea.  The book is very inexpensive, and you can be sure that Ms. Waters shares our "animals are people too" philosophy.  And no- I am not getting any money or perks for recommending this.  I just think it's a way to celebrate all of our pets and what they have meant to us.  Click on the picture above to go to Amazon and check out the book.

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Feel-Good Friday

Today's Feel-Good Friday story has been showing up in my Facebook news feed quite a bit over the past few days. I really wanted to pass it along here because it's about a greyhound, and we just featured a beautiful greyhound, Irie, last week. This greyhound is named Clobberhead, which might be one of the greatest dog names I've ever heard. 

 Anyway, after Clobberhead was let go from his Florida track and his racing career, he was adopted by Erin Cramer and her daughter a few months ago in Indiana.  Not too long ago Erin was home sick when Clobber began acting really strange, pushing his head up against a wall and crying. She tried to take him outside but he immediately pulled to go back in. When they went back inside Clobberhead led her to the laundry room, where unbeknownst to her the water heater had sprung a leak and was emitting natural gas! Not only that, but when the plumber got there he said it was sparking! That's terrifying. It's likely that Clobberhead not only saved Erin's life, but the lives of the people in the surrounding houses. Just when we think our pets couldn't mean more to us than they do, one of them goes and does something amazing like this. Click the picture below for a brief video of Clobberhead in action and a more in-depth version of the story.

Now, Clobberhead's story is heartwarming, but Norman is just pure entertainment. This dog is literally riding a bike.  I can't ride a bike, but Norman can.  Click the picture.

Can you even imagine if you were just driving along and saw that?  

With the Feel-Good vibes I shared with you today, could you do a favor for me in return? A former colleague of mine has a 7 year old son who is currently in a medically induced coma in the hopes it will help him recover from a serious head injury he sustained last week during a terrible freak accident playing.  Could you spare some thoughts, prayers, and love for Mikey and his family as they battle through this incredibly difficult time?  A Facebook page has been started to show some love and support. 

And here they are, your gratuitous pictures of Wiley and Jenny. 

In this picture, not only has Wiley stolen my scarf in an attempt to get me to play with his ball, but he also has crusty white spots on his face from the yogurt container he took off the counter before it got washed out for the recycling bin.  He's incorrigible.

Speaking of Feeling-Good, I'm not going to lie. Having the two of them cuddle on me, for however brief a time it lasted, made me feel really good!

Next week I'll share part two of Feline Friday: The Poetry of Cats, picking up where last week's post left off.  Can you stand the suspense?

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Throwback Thursday: Snickelfritz

Snickelfritz as a puppy

Those of you who make the rounds on Instagram and Facebook may know that on Thursday people often post pictures with the hashtag #tbt, which stands for Throwback Thursday. It's a good excuse to dip deep into the archives and share some pictures from a long time ago, at least when done right.  Well on Tuesday I shared the story of Roscoe P Coltrain, and if you didn't check him out it's definitely worth your time to do so. However, while looking at pictures of Roscoe as a puppy, I was reminded of my dear sweet Snickelfritz, about whom I have written before here on the blog.

Snickelfritz all grown up (and out)

 My whole childhood, I kid you not, all I wanted was puppies. I wanted my first dog, already 5 years old when I was born, to have a litter of puppies. Well, when I was five and Heidi was 10, my parents had to have an emergency hysterectomy done for Heidi, who had never been spayed. Don't judge too harshly, it was 1980. Spaying wasn't as common back then. Anyway, I didn't know what that meant, and so for the next five years I wasted every penny anyone gave me within the vicinity of a wishing well (or fountain) wishing that Heidi would have puppies.

Heidi

 Every time I passed the fountain at the mall, I begged for a penny, then threw it in attached to the dream of having a litter of puppies in my very own house to care for. Well readers, not to be melodramatic but that single gesture, repeated over and over again, kind of symbolizes how most of my major wishes panned out in life. Wasted wish after wasted wish, I never knew there was no chance of it coming true.  When Heidi went over the Rainbow Bridge in 1985, my parents set in motion to at least help me get part of my wish, and they took me to the SPCA and let me pick the puppy I wanted. 

And that's when Snickelfritz became my forever friend, and actually the only puppy I've ever had. When you always rescue the hard-to-adopt dogs, puppies are rare. 

I don't know if you'll see the same resemblance I do between the two. 

This is Roscoe.

This is Snickelfritz.

  I have no idea if Fritz and Roscoe would have shared a single strand of breed DNA.

That's sometimes the beauty of mutts. They keep us guessing. 

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Roscoe P Coltrain

I met today's rescue dog via Instagram, and his name is a doozy: Roscoe P. Coltrain. If that name doesn't ring any bells then you'll have to dig deeply all the way back to the 80s, when The Dukes of Hazzard were popular entertaining rednecks long before Honey-Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty came along. 

 Roscoe has been with his family now for 13 years, but he still gets around pretty well. 

He came to live with them when Tina's daughter was working at Starbucks and a woman came in with puppies who were headed for the pound. 

They already had a dog, a Springer Spaniel named Sarah, and were looking for some company for her. Roscoe was an adorable puppy, part Corgi and part Chow!  

Look at him!

Over the years Roscoe has had various fur siblings. He was particularly close to Matty, who was adopted from the SPCA at age five with a heart murmur that required constant meds.  

Matty and Roscoe grew close, but then one day Matty lost his sight. The vet examined him and his pupils did not react to light. Matty adjusted by walking close to the wall at home and leaning on Roscoe when they were outside. 

 Oddly enough, or miraculously enough, Matty actually recovered some of his sight in a few months.

Eventully Matty got to the point where he developed other health problems, like Cushings, and it was just too much for him. At age 11 he decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge, and Roscoe has missed his sweet buddy, who loved everyone. 

Now Roscoe pals around with Timmy the cat, named after Tim Lincecum, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. 

I have to share a little fact about the Giants, since Roscoe's family apparently are fans. Ryan Vogelsong, an all-star pitcher for San Francisco who was instrumental in helping them win the 2012 World Series, played baseball at Kutztown University, where my husband coaches! Ryan left before Hubs got there, but has stayed very close with the head coach, and so my husband has been fortunate enough to meet him a few times. The baseball team also benefits tremendously from Ryan's generosity each year.

Anywayyyyy. . .  getting back to Roscoe, not only does he get to hang out with Timmy, but he also gets many trips to the San Francisco beaches and all around the major sites.

 When Hubs and I visited San Francisco we never got to see much of anything that wasn't shrouded in fog, including the Golden Gate Bridge. I can see by Roscoe's picture below that fog around the bridge is pretty standard. 

Tina has decided to celebrate Roscoe's life by writing a book for her 5 grandkids that talks about all the experiences Roscoe has had throughout his long and happy life. 

Roscoe is checking himself out.

Even though he lost some friends along the way, he's had it really good with his furever family. 

Thanks so much to Tina for opening her home to so many animals, and for sharing her story with us.  

You can follow Roscoe on Instagram @roscoe_p_coltrain. I just have to end by sharing this picture of Roscoe.

I love it because it reminds me of one of my absolute favorite "memes" out there on the World Wide Web, as seen below.

I laugh every time I see it!  Corgis are really adorable dogs aren't they?

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