Day 27 - Pets (LONG post)

Where do I begin?


I think for all of our sakes, I will just give a brief story about each pet. Because eventually they will have a post of their own.

My first dog ever was Snoopy. He was 2 when I got him and I was 14. I am actually surprised that I even got a dog. My Mom was not a pet person and actually has pet allergies. However, she made a deal with me that if I got straight A's in Grade 8 (last year of grade school) then I could get a dog. Now don't think that I am a slacker, I just usually got at least 1 or 2 B's. And I did technically get a B on my Grade 8 report card, but I fought it. They gave me a B in Gym class because I did not wear the newly inforced uniform, because my Mom thought it was stupid to buy a gym uniform for half a year. So I got a A!

I went to camp for a week and when my Mom came to pick me up, she said we were going to look at a dog! Sure enough it was Sir Snoops and we took him home that afternoon! The best first dog ever... miss you buddy ;(

Then came along Jazz. We adopted Jazz from the SPCA when she was about 4 months. She was the only solid color cat in her litter, as well as the only girl. Her brothers were all striped tabbies. We brought her home and her and Snoopy were instant buddies. Snoopy loved to lick her and well, Jazz didn't seem to mind. Jazz learned a lot from Snoopy and was more canine-like than feline-like when she was young... she's back to feline now..

Then we got Diamond. She was 8 when we got her. We got her from my Dad's friend, who was moving out west. She lived with a LARGE family....Diamond was a sweet sweet dog, but was not used to big spaces, in fact we had to do a lot of work with her because of her previous situation. But she was perfect! I miss her free-spirit everyday! She was about 12 years old or so and she ended up have mini-strokes. There were days where she could not see us, or didn't know us, but there were also days where she was great. It was really hard going home from work and never quite knowing what your dog was going to be like. It was also hard for Lily, because she was home with her all day and they were inseparable. Lily ended up being a bit depressed towards the end of Diamonds days.

Copper was the next addition, and he was a drop off at Mike's parents farm. Copper weighed not even 2 pounds as a fully grown male cat. He was declawed and fixed as well. He was touch and go for a while, but decided to stick around. We had no clue how old he was or anything about him. It took him a while to trust us humans, but once he did, and once he realized that we were on his side, we had a great relationship. We said good bye to Copper last year.

Along came Lily 6 months or so after we said goodbye to Snoopy. I must say she was a pretty good puppy, until she hit 8 months and the chewing started... here we had thought we had the best puppy EVER and that everyone was crazy for saying Golden's are notorious chewers... Well she just hit that road late... nothing a massive kennel (that she chewed the bottom out of... and learned how to get out of...) couldn't fix.. RIGHT.. She is no longer in the kennel and can actually have free range for the most part. Every now and then I will find a kitchen towel nibbled on, but not too often. Lily weighed 105 pounds!! She is a BIG dog. She was just recently diagnosed with hypothyroid  and is on meds. We are pretty sure she has lost weight, and her energy levels have sky rocketed! Her average weight should be about 85 to 90 pounds.

We got Gracie when the day we put Diamond down. What an emotional day, but I would highly recommend it. It was easier for Lily because she was never really alone and sort of distracted her from the fact that Diamond was gone. I guess it helped distract us too, but it was still equally hard, but now we had a little joy in our grief. Gracie is was trouble from the get go.. not as bad as Marley (from Marley & Me), but there were days that I swear it was. She is better now, but I won't say much better... she has slip ups and attitude adjustment days and a few time outs... She is in and out her kennel. We have tried putting them together in the bathroom, but just this past weekend she chewed the bottom of my curtains. Granted our house is a disaster zone (no joke) from painting the bedroom and now we are getting Mike's parents bedroom furniture this week, as they ordered new stuff. But still, this is what she does, she goes through periods of excellence, marked with periods of NON excellence.. DOGS... can't live without them, never a boring day!

Binx was my Christmas present last year. She was rescued from the SPCA as well, but we got her when she was about 8 weeks. She is crazy! Her and Jazz seem to get along, but Jazz is much older and not as playful. They still play, but is more on Jazz's terms... sort-of... Binx is a ball of energy that very rarely stops. Although with the newest addition, we are learning a bit more about Binx!

And last but not least... Lux. We just got this little guy this past weekend and he is about 7 weeks old. This one is all on Mike. I am still getting used to this idea of 3 cats, but he is super sweet and social. He just wants to be loved!