POSSUM WATCH, THE SEQUEL

Well, we've been at it for several weekends now without any luck.  Pat did not turn up Saturday night and I really didn't hold out much hope for a Sunday night sighting either. My hunch was partially incorrect.

Sunday morning our back yard was filled with bright, dappled sunlight now that the trees in the surrounding yards are in bloom.  The weather was a bit warmer that earlier in the week providing a nice opportunity for Annie to spend time outside.  Annie is a dedicated sunbather so 'Mom' makes sure to put her out early enough for her to enjoy the sunshine without getting sunburned.  She gets freckled during summer with the freckles fading over the winter.

I spread a mat on the porch for Annie to recline and recline she did, soaking up the sun, enjoying the fresh air and surveying the adjoining yards.  Of course, she started her usual routine of going out and coming in which reminded me it's time to dig out my tee shirt with the words:

Agenda for the day

Let dog in

Let dog out

Let dog in

Let dog out

Let dog in

  

Well, you get the idea and true to form, Annie did just that - cry to come in then after a short time, stand at the back door waiting to be let out.  I never let her in when she cries instead asking her "What do you want?"  Her answer is a bark and then I'll let her in.  You would think after 9 years of this she would just cut to the bark and forget about crying but not Annie.  We go through the same routine every summer and every other season of the year to a lesser degree.

No cats!  Where is everybody?

I'll just chill.

Love that warm sunshine on my face!

Sunday evening while there was still light, Artie put some cut-up strawberries out for Pat. Earlier in the day,   while cleaning strawberries, I remembered Mar-gray's comment about possums liking fruit and the video of a possum eating a strawberry.  I put some aside to use as an enticement.  The security light came on twice but we didn't see anyone in the yard.  It was a little after ten when Annie decided to make her final excursion for the night. Artie went out back with her and discovered the bowl undisturbed but empty!  Pat must have come by.  What am I feeling?  Definitely relief that Pat is OK and a renewed sense of hope that we will get that video footage we both so desperately want.

The stranger didn't come through the yard at all Sunday. No Norwegian Forest Cat; no possum sighting.  Maybe the cat does belong to someone after all.  Maybe the possum is just playin' possum.  We just have to wait and see.  Hopefully next weekend will yield a sighting of both.

A call from the Vet's office pronounced Annie free of any parasites eliminating them as a cause of her stomach issue.  The start of a new week, may it be a quiet one and one that yields answers to all our questions.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS PAT POSSUMWAITHE

With Annie's medical emergency this week, I have to admit there hasn't been time to keep looking for the possum.  We did some checking Thursday and Friday nights but no luck.

Late Saturday morning, I happened to gaze out the back window at the yard wondering whether or not Pat would come through after sundown.  Annie was on the porch and she started to bark at a cat going through the garden.  The cat wasn't one of our usual group of strays but a grey longhair bushy-tailed stranger.  I was shocked - for a split-second I thought it was Buddy.

Artie mentioned seeing this cat a few weeks back.  I never saw him (or her) before but apparently Artie keeps seeing him in the back, on our block and on the cross-street.  After I corralled Annie, shoving her back inside to stop the racket, the 'stranger' turned and sat at the far end of the garden under the mulberry tree Pat is so fond of climbing.  We looked at each other for a long moment.  I decided to put out a pack of Buddy's food, hurrying in to get one.  When I looked out again, he was gone.

Our new visitor looks like a Norwegian Forest Cat.  I'm sure he's not a feral; I fear someone abandoned him.

From now on I will be on the lookout for Pat at night and the stranger during the day.

You can see the close resemblance between the Norwegian Forest Cat and the Maine Coon breeds in this You Tube video:

The last cat pictured in this video resembles Buddy.  Such beautiful photos!

ANNIE AND UGGIE

Saturday morning and Annie is sleeping in.  She is much improved, to  my great relief.  We are still preparing bland meals for her and administering medication but she is definitely over the worst of this episode.

I guess it's official.  Uggie, the dog in "The Artist" must be retired because his memoir is due to hit the bookstores  this October.  Yesterday, Simon & Schuster announced the memoir will be published by their imprint Gallery Books.

You remember Uggie and "The Artist", he's an adorable Jack Russell Terrier and the film was nominated for and won Best Film at the 2011 Academy Awards.  Quite a feat for a black and white silent movie.

All I can say is "I can't wait for the book!"  Uggie had a short but memorable career and he worked with some heavy hitters so I wonder what he'll have to say about James Cromwell and Robert Pattinson.

While researching this article, I came across a news piece and video from The Guardian, a British paper. Uggie is interviewed and he expresses his desire to do Shakespeare!  Al Pacino or Kevin Spacey, if either of you are reading this, contact Uggie - he does a mean Richard III!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2012/jan/12/the-artist-dog-uggie-video

DOWN AGAIN, UP AGAIN WITH ANNIE

I didn't post yesterday because there just wasn't any time to fit it in.  As I posted Wednesday, Annie was on the mend, feeling better, acting better, doing better.  Or so I thought. 

Yesterday morning's breakfast was refused and Annie's stomach was making squishing, gurgling noises.  She seemed OK except for the not eating bit.  Artie was home from work so we had plenty of chores planned and we were off to a good start.  It was early afternoon when I sat down to check my emails, do a bit of research online and start my post which never happened.  Artie let Annie out to spend some time in the yard.  She relieved herself and passed quite a bit of blood and mucous and tree leaves?!  Even though she seemed completely fine this wasn't good so we rushed her to the doctor.

At the office, we went through the usual routines of crying at the cats on display for adoption, crying and barking at other dogs, crying for everyone to pet her - in short, she was her usual handful.  Since this was an emergency, we had to take an appointment with whomever was available.  The doctor who did the exam was very nice and she had a vet-in-training observing/assisting her.  Immediately we recognized the vet-in-training and she us.  It was Lauren, who had been a Vet Tech at Hope Vet.  "You guys also have a cat." Lauren said to which we sadly told her "Not anymore, Buddy died a few weeks ago."

Lauren said she was sorry.  She remembered taking care of Buddy when he lost his tail to cancer, filling his prescriptions for his renal failure and that he was a great cat.   Then she said something that made us feel terrific.  She said everyone was amazed that we detected Buddy's cancer when it was so small.  At that moment I felt Artie and I truly did take amazing care of Buddy, giving him much more time than he would have had on his own or with his original family.  But would we do the same for Annie?

Annie was playful but more subdued than during visits past.  She also laid on her side for part of the exam which was totally out of character for her.  No definitive diagnosis.  She was given a rectal exam and a sample taken to check for parasites.  A medicine was prescribed for bacteria, etc.  She was given fluids subQ because she was slightly dehydrated and a bland diet was recommended.

Artie boiled white rice and sweet potatoes then gave Annie a quarter cup of each along with a quarter cup of low fat cottage cheese.  Annie's pill was administered inside a small piece of cheddar cheese to mask the smell and flavor.  We spent the evening monitoring her.

Today she was beyond her old self.  Truly happy and very lovable, Annie has asked more than once to play, going into that place dogs generally go where the play partner turns into an observer as the dog runs and blows off steam.  She had her mini-breakfast and pill on time.  Of course, I keep checking on her from time to time.  We spent time in our back yard together and now I will prepare her another small, bland meal.

I am really trying to keep a lid on my emotions, having Annie sick on the heels of losing Buddy has left my emotions raw.  All I want is a bit of a breather from pet illness - just enough time to heal from my loss and recharge my batteries.  I don't think that's too much to ask.