A Day About: Faith

I’m hoping to start this thing, just to keep myself thinking about what’s been going on with my animals and I.  For the next week I’m going to try to post about one of my pets a day.  Give them their spotlight as I see I’ve neglected posting about some of my babies, without really meaning to.  I’m also hoping it will get me motivated to take new photos to add to my collection.  I don’t want to miss moments if I can avoid it.  Since I started late in the week, this will probably continue until next Wednesday or until everyone has had their day.  It’ll be a good thing I think, since I’ll be spending time with my animals and honing in on my photography skills, such as they are.

So, I’ll start with the star of this blog, since she hasn’t been featured lately.  Faith.

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Faith has been my dog and best friend since middle school.  I never met her as a puppy and for the first year or so of her life, neither one of us knew who the other was.  It wasn’t until one fateful night, when my mom and I were out picking up dinner, that a yellow blur brought our van to a screeching halt.  My mom thought she had hit her and stepped out to make sure she was fine.  Less than a minute later, a stinking, muddy, emaciated form was sitting beside me in our van, staring and wagging happily at me.  Though, I didn’t see that as I tried to claw my way out of the car, not knowing if this Gollumesque thing, was friend or foe.  Mom ordered the dog-thing to sit and butt hit car floor almost instantaneously.  When I realized I wasn’t going to be shredded to bits, I took another look and saw the eyes of desperate, but happy dog.  As if she had been waiting for the right family to drive by and stop–

It was her Leap of Faith.

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In the years that have followed, Faith has been a loyal and adoring friend.  She has never asked for anything more than our love and has given much more than she will ever know.  Even the days she was naughty (Chicken bones are hard to resist) or I a lackluster parent, she still remained the faithful dog she’s always been and I’m grateful for that.  She followed me through the rest of my horrible middle school years (pimples and growth spurts galore) and supported me through high school and hours of violin practice.  For two years we lived in a different city, in an apartment where our best times were spent snuggling on my parents’ old couch, watching movies and sharing dinner (well, her kibble bowl was next to my burger) and she never once faltered; even when I was home late from work or I had to focus on studying for a statistics test I was never going to pass even if I wished really, really hard.  She kept me sane, even when it was boring for her.

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To this day, I look at her and I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it.  I know to her last breath, she will be my friend and confidant (I can tell her things I couldn’t tell anyone and I know she wouldn’t judge me) and that makes me wish with all my heart that she will never have a last breath.  When I look at her, I see such a soulfulness that I’m hard-pressed to find in any other human.  Her dark eyes are grateful and humble and beautiful and that is something so rare to find.  She knows she had a hard life before us and that even through the hard times, she’s in a good place.  We all love her and for me, she leaped her way into my heart in a way I will never recover from.

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And I adore her.

Uno

It feels like, every other time I post on this blog anymore, it’s to write about the death of one my beloveds.  This post is no different and it’s tearing me up.  Every time I get comfortable and think that life has settled down for a while, something else happens and I guess this time was no different.

On July 11th, 2011.  My beloved gerbil, Uno, passed away.

The days before she died, I was away in Minnesota, so I don’t know if she was feeling unwell during the time I was gone or if it was just one of those things.  I had gotten back on the 11th and all seemed well, she greeted me in her usual fashion, though admittedly I wasn’t focusing on anyone in particular.  I was tired from the trip and was trying to get my things prepared for work.  I went to bed fairly late and fell asleep without hearing anything coming from her cage– however this was not unusual as she often went to bed and woke up with me.  Around 5:15 in the morning, I was awoken by a crack of thunder and the sounds of rain and hail beating against the house.  It took me a few moments to realize that not only was it storming, the warning sirens up the street from our house were also going off.  Without having a radio in my room and my weather updates telling me it was just a severe storm, I wasn’t sure what it was, but bundled Buddha and Dharma into their “storm carrier” and went to get Evie and Uno from their cages.  Although Evie was peering at me from her bed, I realized there was no movement from Uno’s, something that wasn’t typical, so I popped open the door of her house expecting her to shoot out and come stare at me.  It took a few moments of me feeling around the cage, before I realized that she was laying on top of her chew house and she wasn’t moving.

It took me completely by surprise and hit me very hard when I realized she was gone.  Of course it was the worst time to come to the conclusion and I was forced to rush Evie into her ball and wrap Uno in a towel so I could get everyone downstairs.  I sat downstairs, very upset about the storms, which I hate with a passion just because it causes a pile up of things that could go wrong and that my gerbil was gone but I couldn’t do much to mourn her at the moment because I still had to find out if the rest of us were needing to worry about our safety.  Finally we decided that the reports were telling us it was strong winds and rain but that we were not in danger of a tornado (doesn’t feel like it watching the news as many people’s homes and property were damaged) and decided to go back to bed.  I had to go upstairs minus one of my loves.

Even though it was almost 6am and I had work the next day I found it very hard to sleep.  I hadn’t put Buddha and Dharma back in their house yet, so I set the carrier on my bed and just let them come out at their own pace.  For once, they were cuddling and I made mention to them that I kind of would like some cuddling too.  I know it seems silly but when I said that, Dharma perked up and stepped a paw out on my comforter, wheeked at me softly and when I motioned for her attention she waddled (yes, they waddle, it’s normal) over to me and snuggled up with me, still wheeking as I pet her.  Buddha, not to be outdone by her younger sister came out to join us a few moments later, but was bold enough to climb up my tummy and stick her face under my chin.  I think we stayed like that for an hour, just cuddling.

Animals are perceptive and I think even the toughest critics would have a hard time denying that.  They both knew I was sad and I cried for a good long while.  I’m not ashamed to say it.  Faith knew too and stayed close to the bed, just watching us and knowing that it hurt me, whatever it was.  I went to work, where my kids were less perceptive to my depression and I spent a very long day trying not to think about there being one less fuzzy face waiting for me when I got home.  When I finally did get home from all of that, my Dad helped me bury my little friend in the backyard, next to some of our peony bushes.  Appropriate as peonies are my favorite flowers and she was one of my favorite gerbils.

I acknowledge that some people will think it’s dumb to be so attached to an animal.  I suppose if you don’t have any or you don’t have an interest in connecting with any, that would make sense.  I would like to think, even though I’m not a member of PETA or even vegetarian, that I do tend to connect with the animals I meet and especially the ones that have come to live with me.  Every single one of them has a personality and I’ve seen it in some way to the point I’ve wanted them to become a part of my family.  Uno was no different.

I met Uno in January of 2010 in the quiet area of the pet store I work at on the weekends.  She had fallen after escaping from a tote in the quarantine area of the store for new animals and was thought to have lost her left eye.  Her eye required daily cleaning and would most likely have to be adopted out because she was no longer in “prime condition”.  In the few weeks I had to get to know her, I knew she needed to join my family of furry friends.  Earning the moniker, Uno.  When I brought her home, her eye hadn’t gotten any better and I was told that likely it never would– it just didn’t seem normal that it would need to be cleaned out everyday with the kind discharge it had.  I took her to the vet and for the first time in my life, spent $66 for an appointment for a gerbil.  There, I was told she not only still had her eye, it was viable and the only reason it was still swollen was because she had Ringworm.  Had I not adopted her and brought her to the vet, she most likely would have died from lack of proper treatment.

Uno brought me a lot of joy.  I had never had a gerbil and had to learn how to care for them very soon after bringing her home.  Did you know, when you have a gerbil, you either get a chewer, a runner, or both?  And you don’t know which one it is until you buy them lots of toys only to find out they don’t want them?  I found out fairly quickly, Uno was a chewer– a beaver in gerbil clothing.  I had gotten her a lovely two-story home, with a “fun ramp” and a nice, quiet wheel.  Only much to my dismay, the wheel was turned to plastic chips and the ramp could no longer be qualified as a ramp after 24 hours.  To which she had to learn to jump up to the second story and decided the nice new *metal* wheel I bought her, was much more fun for sleeping in than running in.  She did however, adore the Nut Knots I brought home from work, where the prize for chewing through a maze of wood chews was a little nut in the middle.  She went through several small ones in a very short amount of time.  Usually two or three to Evie’s one and she always wanted them.  Finally, I just bought the size that was meant for Guinea Pigs and rabbits in the hopes they would last longer.  They did and Uno’s eyes would always get wide when I set one in her house, like I had just given her the grail of chewy toys.

She was an excellent doorman, always greeting people when they walked in.  I positioned her cage just so she could see who walked in.  Even if she was in her bed, if she heard the door open, she would (as my Dad calls it) “up periscope” to see if she knew the newcomer.  She hated running in her exercise ball and if I put her in it and set her on the floor, she would sit there, wringing her paws, wondering when she would ever get back home to her Nut Knot.  Her dislike of running and maybe my being a softie when it comes to treats, led her to be a bit overweight and although I cut down on her treats and fed her no more than anyone else, she still was a little chunky for a gerbil.  I always joked, I was the only person in the U.S. who had a gerbil with a thyroid condition and that if chewing on things counted for exercise, she would be tiny.

She was a messy roommate to be sure– I would clean her house and make everything nice, just in time for her to kick everything out onto my floor.  I went through three birdcage covers just to staunch the mess, but I would buy a million if it meant she was still here.  I can’t even think about cleaning out her cage right now, for fear of starting to cry again.  I miss her so much already.  I think this will always be the worst part of being a pet owner.  Losing one of your loves and getting over it.  I will always remember my little Uno and I wish upon wish that she is happy wherever she is now.

Uno

I love you, Uno.  I always will and I hope you’re happy and that someday we’ll see each other again.  Miss you.

-Mom

Under Construction

Excuse the mess– I’m trying to find a theme I like again– must be a thing with me.  I get bored after a few months of the same thing and I have yet to find anything I like that isn’t “premium”.  Which, much like the price of gas these days, is ridiculous.

I like this one because I can add a customizable header, but that has to be made first.  Which, of course I’m thrilled about.  Daaaaaad?!?!?!  I have the pictures, I just dunwanna do it.  Until I get that figured out, you’ll have to bear with me changing my mind every few minutes!

Holidays are… Stressful?

So, a lot of things happened this 4^th of July.

It was not only America’s birthday, but my Mother’s (I won’t tell you which one for fear of death).  We got to visit our family, including two of my cousin’s and their families that we haven’t seen in a very long time.  It was overall, a very nice day and I was happy to have it off, because this summer already seems like it’s lasting forever when it’s only just begun.

I do remember the days I longed for school to be out and I was free from the academic for a short while.  Though, that was before I was an “adult” and being paid to care for other people’s children, instead of someone caring for me.  Now I’m actually looking forward to school starting again.

How times change.

Anyway, it was a good day and I was happy to see my family and enjoy good food and a relaxing day.

That is, until we got home.

The dogs had been good, despite it being a long day in the house and us forgetting to put the trashcan out of reach, which I’m sure was a temptation beyond all temptations.  We let them out to do their business for a while and when it was time for dinner, we discovered something was amiss.

Luka and Mystic were gone.

Dumb

Dumber

Apparently, someone had come into the backyard during the day and left the gate open, which of course gave the dogs the opportunity to run away.  Before I go off on a rant about inconsiderate boobs, let me tell you something that will shock you.

Luka came back.

It happens!!

Let me allow that to sink in for a moment.

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Are you scraping your mouth up off the floor?  I was.  Mom wants everyone to think that he wanted to be good and came back for that, but in all honesty.  He hadn’t been fed yet.  It was, as we call it at our house, “dog o’clock” and Luka most likely realizing that with his rumbling tummy.  Regardless of his motives, I am very proud of him for coming back when he could have easily run and been in danger of being hit by a car.  He was a good boy, albeit motivated, boy.

Mystic on the other hand, didn’t seem to care it was Dog o’clock, one way or another and headed for the hills.  Although generally she’s a very good dog, she’s spent so much time going from family to family to family her training has been limited.  When the opportunity to explore arose, she took it.  It was just a horrible day for it to happen.  She had already been gone for half an hour and could be anywhere.  All of us piled into our cars and spent over an hour searching our neighborhood.  I, of course, was in tears most of that time, thinking about all the things that might happen to her.  She’s afraid of loud noises and raised voices, which—it’s the 4^th of July.  That’s pretty much all that happens.  I was afraid that she would get scared and run into traffic and that I would find her lying in the street.  I’ve also heard stories of cretins stealing people’s dogs right out of their backyards and using them in dog fighting rings.  Mystic might look and feel like a tank—but she wouldn’t hurt a fly.  I can’t even imagine her going through something like that and so the thought made me twice as worried.  I had been around our neighborhood what felt like six hundred times and frustration was beginning to set in.  I decided one more time around the elementary school and then I would just have to go home and see if I could leave a message for the animal shelter.  So I head back that way and guess who comes a derp, derping up the street?

My darling tank of a dog.

Derp.

I threw open the door and hollered at her to get in the car, to which she obliged and we finally got to go home.  And I had to fix my make-up.  She did what I figured she was going to do, head for a playground.  She loves kids and people, but I wasn’t sure of her patterns since she hasn’t been with us that long and she hasn’t run since we got her.

I just want to say, I’m used to having to track down dogs.  It’s not the first time someone has wandered away and it’s not the first time it’s made me have a meltdown.  However, someone was in our yard.  I don’t know if they were there to steal something or simply back there to find a lost golf-ball but either way—thanks for being a jerk; because of you, I spent an hour of my life looking for my dog and wondering if she was going to be ok.

I’m really just happy she’s home and I guess she was too.  She’s been very snuggly with me since then, which is unusual since she usually sticks with Dad, but she came upstairs to my room and snuggled with me while I watched a movie and has followed me around like we’re attached.  I kind of love it, I’m just afraid it won’t last now that she’s not in danger of becoming a pancake.

And yes, I purchased them all new ID tags.  they should be coming shortly.

The rest of the week was filled with work and boringness.  That’s ok.  I can’t take more than that.

Until the next crisis,

Jaina