November 7, 2014

My daughter and her two cats are staying with me until she can find an apartment that she can afford and like and be comfortable in.....  They have been with me since April or May  (I don't keep track of the details).   When I was in the house I had a spare bedroom that was never empty.   My son stayed with me for a few years and then my daughter's boyfriend (who lived in PA and then found a job here as an intern).  And then a friend coming back into town to live and needed a place to stay to look for an apartment, and for awhile my daughter and her boyfriend lived in the basement, and another friend who needed to find an apartment, and then another friend who needed to get out of the apartment she was in and stayed with me until she could find a better one than the one she was in.
And everyone of them had a pet or two.
My son had two Sheltie's, my daughter had two cats, her boyfriend had 1 cat, another friend had a black Lab, and then another tenant had a cat and a beautiful Jenday Conure (A Bird) (And she was a beauty!)
Not all stayed in my house at the same time, but there was a time that there were 2 Shelties and 3 Cats all at once.
It was a busy place, and it certainly made my 9 years at the house go by fast.
When the Black Lab (Lola) stayed at the house, she loved to play.  And at the time I was out of work so we played a lot.   She was very smart dog....At first her owner told me that it was okay to keep her outside, but I was ok to have her in the house with me from time to time, but the rule was that she was supposed to stay outside until her owner came home.
Here is a story that I remember very well about Lola...

There is this dog on my back porch that is breaking my heart.....I walked into the living room and there she is looking through the glass on the closed door. I didn't want to acknowledge her as then she would get all excited again and her owner said she would be fine out there all day until she comes home....She tried to get my attention by walking back and forth in front of the French Doors that lead from the living room to the back porch......I could see her going back and forth out of the corner of my eye. When that didn't work, she stopped and started making noises while she sat in front of the door....first these little whiny sounds.......and when that didn't grab my attention, she picked up a cat toy from the porch and held this little jingly thing with feathers & bells in her mouth and would shake it every once in a while to make it jingle....she looked sooo funny! But I stood strong..... Then she spit out the jingly thing and "mrrrfed" at me.....she would wait and if I didn't move, then she would "Mrrrf" again, each time becoming louder and louder until the "mrrrrf" finally became a bark... ...Apparently she didn't want to bark, so after one bark, she stopped. Then she ran outside.....I thought she had finally given up......But, soon she came back to the window.....in her mouth was a tennis ball that I had used to play fetch with her last night. I am on my way out to mow the lawn and did not want to be side-tracked, so I just ignored her........and then, her "coup de tat"....She quietly held that ball for the longest of time, and as I started to get up to get my shoes on to go outside, I heard it. At first, it was a quiet little sound, and as I began my exit, I heard it again a little louder......with every step I took to exit the LR, this very distinct noise came. It was a squeak. She found the one ball in the yard that makes a squeak! And it would squeak with each step I took. I couldn't help but crack up when I heard that sound. This sad little squeak won me over! I guess I could play a little fetch before I mow the lawn.....I turned to look at her and she sat there looking at me with that red ball in her mouth, and then all of a sudden there was one very long sad drawn out squeak. She must've bit down very slowly to make that noise....what a smart dog! and I started to laugh and then the noise was of a very happy squeaky tennis ball! it was great!....Well I had to run, and play with my new found friend. Stormy (My cat) is looking at me with his "I cannot believe you are falling for that old squeaky tennis ball gig!" And then he got up and walked up the stairs....I called after him "Stormy, I love you!", but all I heard was a cat version of the "Mrfff".
Think it will be an interesting few months!

I love animals and found that they could really teach people quite a few things. And they love unconditionally. They are the greatest gifts of all.