The Dog Doesn’t Die

The blog stats tell me that a fair number of people swing by here in search of information about dealing with the death of a pet. I set up this blog primarily as a site for book reviews for animal lovers and secondarily as an on-line diary for myself. But I do have some pet bereavement resources to pass along so that those who end up here with that purpose don’t experience it as just another dead end.

The first place I’m going to suggest is my wise Internet-friend John’s site. John has a big heart, and he shares his home with about 8 cats. He cares for an even larger number of outdoor cats. I met him on sugarcats.com, one of the many websites dedicated to diabetic cats.  His “Poof’s page” on pet loss (named after a beloved cat) is my favorite, bar none. He doesn’t try to sweet-talk the pain, he takes it straight on. If you’re hurting, please read what John wrote. It won’t make the hurt go away, but it will help it make sense.

http://www.planetsos.com/fullmoon/Poof.htm

I’ve been through this twice, and I’ll go through it again. Priscilla is 19, and Eddie is 13. There will be more cats after they’re gone. It’s a way of continuing the love.

I’m putting a lot more links in the first comment.

Twice now, Dave and I have hiked from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Colorado River, stayed 2-3 nights at Phantom Ranch, and hiked back out. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it takes me way, way, way outside my comfort zone.

This weekend, we decided to do it again in 2009.

Also this weekend, da1baldguy posted a bunch of clips on YouTube showing parts of his hike down and up — in the snow! I’ve been at the Grand Canyon when there were 8 inches of snow, and the views are astonishing. Anyway, here are clips from da1baldguy’s collection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DH5WFhKGWY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbtRoJxZ08&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCNXwuUrwI0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbtRoJxZ08&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYoXBNXruZI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxyzc9MVwYQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5-80dM6znA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DwV-weedFY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F94VNfSrzOg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw5zrRVdVlY&feature=related

Hugs to da1baldguy, wherever you are!

The daughter of an American mother and a Jordanian immigrant, Diana Abu-Jaber writes movingly about the joys and frustrations of growing up as the eldest of three daughters. There are hardly any reverences to animals, but there is one horrifying scene that animal lovers will want to skip. Fortunately, it’s brief and really adds nothing to the overall story, so you miss nothing by avoiding the entire anecdote. Therefore, I am declaring the book Safe, but ONLY if you skip pages 12-19. That will keep you from reading anything about the bad incident. If you don’t want to skip that much, at least avoid pages 16-19. If you do that, I will recommend this book.

More below in the first comment.

I believe in cooking for one. I have never understood people who short-change themselves because they’re alone for dinner. If I am by myself, I deserve a good meal as much as if Dave is here or I have a house full of people. It takes a different kind of planning, but it’s not rocket science.

When Dave and I were weathered in, I doubled up meals I normally make for myself. Scrambled eggs with Monterey jack cheese for breakfast? That’s a no-brainer. For lunch, I made the Buffalo Chicken Cornbread I mentioned in a previous post. That recipe originated with Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies, which I still check before heading into the kitchen. But I’ve made that one my own already.

For dinner, I made gnudi. I can’t find a link to the recipe I use, but this one sounds good http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/236878 and I may try it next time. I love gnudi, and I was somewhat disappointed that cooking a “double” batch  from my usual single serving seemed to not work as well. It may have been a matter of an overcrowded pot. In any case, the gnudi weren’t as firm as usual. But they were still good.

I broke out a bottle of prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine (not champagne, if you go along with the French on that). It wasn’t as interesting as champagne or California sparkling wines, but it was pleasant enough. What was interesting was that we didn’t feel as if we’d had much to drink at all, yet the prosecco had an alcohol content of 11%.

All my mother wanted for her 75th birthday was to have the whole family together.

It didn’t happen.

My parents live in rural southern Illinois, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis, MO. And if you saw any national weather reports over the last couple of days, you probably noticed that St. Louis had two entire days of freezing rain. Supposedly, the airport was operating pretty well. In fact, American Airlines — the major airline servicing that airport — cancelled the flight Dave and I were to have taken on Thursday, then cancelled our second flight, scheduled for Friday. We could have flown in late in the evening today (Saturday), but assuming the flight arrived on time, we would have gotten in around midnight. And everyone was scheduled to leave early on Sunday. It made the entire trip rather pointless.

 At least my brother, sister-in-law, and niece made it there.

We knew we were in trouble when we flipped on the Weather Channel and saw Jim Cantore standing at 10th and Market Streets in St. Louis. Dave and I looked at each other and said “we’re doomed.” Then I called Mom. We talked about the horrible weather a bit, then I told her that Jim Cantore was stationed at 10th and Market. “We’re doomed,” she said. “It’s not going to happen.”

Jim Cantore = Angel of Death for Travel Plans

There’s more on this little episode below in the first comment.

One of my Internet friends, Mary Cole, posted this beautiful eulogy on Sugarcats.com shortly after Bushey passed away. I am copying it with permission, and Mary notes that it was originally written for the Cats Protection, Dorking newsletter. She says that if it persuades one person to take on a diabetic cat, it’s worth it. From my own experience, I’ll add that if you are inspired to take on a rescue cat, giving a shot is easier than pilling. It adds about 5 minutes to my day, maximum.

See the first comment for Mary’s post.

This book is one of my favorites, and I love it. My book club is reading it this month on my recommendation, but I would have reread it eventually anyway.

The animal portrayals are vivid and numerous — cats, dogs, beaver, and even lichen are point-of-view characters. Each animal character is treated as a sentient being deserving of respect. So when something goes wrong, even something minor, it has that much more impact on the reader. However, I am going to declare this book Mostly Safe and even recommend it. I don’t know what Steph, Jen, Jenny, and Dana will have to say when we discuss it later this month, but on second reading I still love this book immensely.

I will provide more details on the animal characters and their outcomes below in the first comment.

First, we have a warning from Rusty (whom I believe is a dog and whose site I will link to shortly), who said that his mother couldn’t finish “A Dog Called Kitty” by Bill Wallace because it was too sad. So that book is probably Not Safe.

Also, I finally finished Planet Cat, by Sandra Choron, Harry Choron, and Arden Moore. This is a nonfiction compendium that I first mentioned in another post: http://esheley.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/does-the-dog-die-a-short-review-of-planet-cat-by-sandra-choron-harry-choron-and-arden-moore/ . I have changed my opinion somewhat, which I’ll explain in the first comment.

On impulse in Trader Joe’s last week, I bought a bottle of the 2003 Montecillo Rioja. I am very happy with this choice — it proved to be a good table wine to accompany casual dining at home. It was better on the second and third nights, but that’s fine. I hate feeling like my only choices are to drink more than I want to or to let a good wine go bad. There was no risk of that with this gentle Spanish wine.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a bad Rioja. I find them to be reliable and reasonably priced.

I’m a cat owner, but I also love dogs. And I especially love that little beagle, Uno, who won the 2008 Westminster Dog Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0FgrDFr4E

And here’s the same thing on MSNBC, which shows up slightly better on my computer: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23137542#23137542