GROUNDHOG DAY

I'm a day early but I wanted to remind everyone tomorrow is Groundhog Day when all of the United States will find out whether or not we will get an early spring or be subjected to 6 more weeks of winter.

Here in Brooklyn we follow the predictions of two groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck. Phil's been predicting the weather a lot longer than Chuck but Chuck has the distinction of having bitten Mayor Bloomberg a few years ago. This year will be the final opportunity for Chuck to do it again since Hizzoner's term ends with the swearing in of the new Mayor January 1, 2014.

You can read up on Phil at his official website: http://www.groundhog.org/

Chuck's Wikipedia Page tells you all about him and lists his yearly predictions against Phil's: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Chuck

Sometime in the future I intend to make the trip to Punxsutawney to see Phil make his prediction. Of course, I also want to get out to Staten Island to see Chuck on another Groundhog Day.

After you get the lowdown on winter and spring you can always relax and watch the movie Groundhog Day while you contemplate the predictions. Keep warm and Happy Groundhog Day!

ORPHEE AND ME

The relationship between Orphee and me is at a standstill. I can't figure him. He seems to become tense when I pet or take care of him; he definitely is more comfortable with Artie.

This concerns me - I do so want to establish a rapport with him outside of being the person who feeds him and cleans his litter box. The other day I was petting him, rubbing his forehead, his face and neck. When I finished I patted him on the head then rubbed under his chin. I've done all of this before but this time Orphee lashed out with lightening speed hitting me on the wrist very hard and leaving me with 3 puncture wounds.

I was surprised; I totally did not see it coming. He didn't meow, hiss or scratch. This was a slap and a hard one with no raking of claws. He didn't even change his expression or move an inch outside of wielding his front paw.

My guess is Orphee is probably more alpha than Buddy. For all his bossy ways Buddy was a gentle soul. Orphee is still living in the front hall. He won't come into my apartment and he generally heads for the stairs whenever he thinks Annie is coming to see him.

Will he ever warm up to me and Annie? Was the meowing, purring, rubbing up against me an Artie a good routine to secure a daily meal? These are questions we need to answer, and only time will tell.

I'M NOT READY...

Even though Annie is doing well, I find I'm not ready to post about her surgery. At some point I will but frankly I'm still emotionally flattened by what happened. It upsets me to write even these few sentences. Everyday I look at her and wonder how much longer will I have her with me. For now, Annie is happy and she appears healthy but I'm aware the clock is ticking. I want my sweet girl to be a cancer survivor like Buddy was.

Buddy had an amazing 5 years after his cancer surgery. What will Annie have?

SHELTER PETS

In one of our free newspapers I came across a 3 panel cartoon by The Shelter Pet Project illustrating the plight of a cat turned over to a shelter by an owner who accepted a job overseas. I decided to look up their website theshelterpetproject.org just to see what they're all about.

I encourage anyone who is thinking about adopting a cat or a dog to visit The Shelter Pet Project website as part of their search. It's easy - just put in your zip code and you will see pictures of pets at shelters near you along with their vitals and bios.

A great way to start a search and find some furry love...