We had a blast visiting all of your furr kids this holiday season! By the end of this month, (tomorrow) we will have enough dog and cat hair to knit 10 sweaters, will be pulling litter out of our shoes and socks for days, trying to get the crusted drool off of our pants and having sweet dreams of all the fun times we had. You know, I actually saw a news report on a lady who makes bags out of cat hair, (she's a groomer) wonder if we could team up.
I was driving around today, and I really started to reflect on all the furr kids that I have had the pleasure visiting with over the four years I've been in business. I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to have chosen this career and have worked with so many wonderful furr guardians. I received a holiday card from my old friends Jane and Johnny, who trusted us to care for their furr kids Tuna and Fruitcake for many years while Johnny was a part of the San Francisco 49'rs coaching staff. How sad it is for us when one of our furr kids moves away...it's like a part of us goes with them.
I was thinking about my old friend Jackson the Boxer, and one of the most enduring things that has ever happened to me in my many years of furr kid care. I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you, (although I'm sure I have gushed over it to some of you already). Jackson was, (and still is) a beautiful goofy Boxer Boy who I had the pleasure of visiting weekly for well over a year. His nickname was "my buggah" for no particular reason...it just came out one day. He is a big Boy, but had the temperament of a sweetheart. He never told me, but I think it hurt his feelings when people would walk the "long way around" instead of visiting with him. One day I was told the heartbreaking news that Jackson would be relocating to Oakland with his furr guardians, and my heart was nearly ripped out of my chest.The last week of our visits were very hard for me, and I know that Jackson picked up on it...I mean, I was his fun Auntie Carolyn who was always smiling and playing not this depressed sad person who so obviously had a lot on her mind. As the last day approached I told myself that I wasn't going to cry, I was going to be strong for "my buggah" and make our last visit a super happy one...then I opened the door. Here he was standing right inside the door waiting for me with his earth themed ball wedged in his mouth and his big Boxer lips folding over it so you couldn't even see his nose. I burst into laughter, but at the same time I could feel the tears coming. I spent extra time with Jackson on that last visit and by the time I took him up to his apartment I was choking up. I took him inside, wrote my last note to his guardians, gave him his chicken treat and then said my goodbyes. The tears flew down my face non-stop and Jackson started to act very upset. As I closed the door for the last time, he watched me until there was only a small crack left. I went to my car blubbering, sad that I lost my good friend.
Well, the next day I had to come back to the complex to visit another furr kid, and I ran into Jackson's guardians. They told me that Jackson had been inconsolable the entire night, whimpering and throwing up. I told them about the sad goodbye and they said "he must REALLY love you", and then they thanked me for caring so much about their Boy and how I made such a difference in his life. My heart warmed up and I have to admit I smiled...not because Jackson was sick of course, but it showed how much of an impact we have on your furr kids and how much they love us. I still miss Jackson, and think about him all the time. I think I'm going to add a new part to my contract forbidding my furr guardians to move. Just kidding, but I wish I could.
I hope some of you had the chance to visit our tree at this years Christmas in the Park! I received emails from some of my furr guardians saying "I found my kid" which in itself is a challenge. My Sister went by the tree the other day and said it was holding up amazingly well, which I'm thrilled about. This is the last week the tree will be up, and I must take down the decorations on the 2nd, so if you haven't seen it you may want to make a little time to pop on over there. If you have children, (the human kind) you can make it a game...let's see if they can find their furr sibling(s).
Some of you already know, but I was actually able to take a few days off and visit Las Vegas! It was a really great time, but of course my allocation of money into the slot machines left my pockets a bit empty, but I guess that's the way it goes in the city of bright lights. On the flight there I picked up one of those EVIL Skymall catalogs and actually found some pretty cool pet related stuff. Just for fun, here are the items that I thought were really cool.
The Indoor Dog Restroom: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102628291&c=10710
The Coolaroo: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102100479&c=10710
Swoop Mini Pooper Scooper: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102760900&c=10710
Climate Control Pet Carrier: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102704142&c=10710
Litter Robot, (wonder if it's as good as the reviews say it is): http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102181776&c=10720
Fling-ama-string Cat Toy: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102681663&c=10720
The Door Hung Cat Climber: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102828842&c=10720
So, I guess that's it for now. I wanted to thank you all one last time for allowing us to care for your furr kids. Katy, Chandel, Samantha, Naomi, Gretchen and I hope all of you have a wonderful and SAFE New Years. We will see your furr kids next year!!!!
HAPPY 2009!!!!!
