Jahuda is my oldest and most reclusive cat. A calico that my son picked out back in 1998; she was quite a mouser and hunter in her day. Not only did she kill more than her share of mice, she also would bring us an assortment of birds and even a small rabbit and a snake. She has slowed down considerably in her advancing years and mostly she just eats and sleeps, hiding out to try to stay out of the sights of the puppy and the kitty who drive her nuts. She doesn’t want to play or be a role model to the younger generation. She just wants to be left alone. I try to respect her wishes giving her attention when she asks for it; plenty of her favorite cat treats and never disclose her location to the other animals in the house.
Kyra is my seven year old Rottweiler/black lab mix. My daughter begged me to get her back on her 10th birthday, and even gave up a pair of new shoes in order to pay the costs of the adoption. She was a rescue puppy from pet over population and was abused by her former owner. As soon as we adopted her we quickly ascertained that she had been left for long periods of time in a car and was deathly afraid of being in a vehicle, especially being left alone in a vehicle. In the ensuing years she has learned that vehicles are wonderful modes of transportation that take her to her grandparents house to see her best friend Lucy or to one of her many favorite places to walk. She still has a lot of neurotic tendencies, but has become fairly well adjusted, and completely spoiled, in her years in the Taylor household. She has a few medical problems, low thyroid, which requires me to give her medication twice a day as well as regular blood work and checkups and she has arthritis in her front shoulder (maybe elsewhere too). I used to have her on a daily arthritis complex, but we have found that walking her every day is the best medicine. Although she was Peyton’s dog, she really became my dog when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. She never left my side and spent her days and nights watching over me. If you tell her to “go get on mommy’s bed” she will run and jump in my bed. She tolerates the new puppy and even plays with her occasionally, but can get her nose very bent out of shape if I acknowledge the puppy before her when I come home or she feels that I am giving the puppy too much attention. I have made a special effort to say hello to her first when I come home and in the morning when they are both vying for my attention. I love all my pets, but this is the one with the most special place in my heart. I absolutely love this dog, she is my sweetheart.
Betsey is our 8 month old black and white kitten. We adopted her to replace the greatest cat in the world, Tweek, that we had to put to sleep back in March because of advanced feline leukemia. If you are a cat owner, vaccinate your cat against this disease. It is a killer; I didn’t know that and felt very responsible for the loss of Tweek. Betsey is a joy whose full name is Betsey Johnson, named after the fabulous fashion designer. She tried in vain to make friends with Jahuda when she first came to our house, but had to settle for Kyra, who is a gentle and loving mother and then when we brought Sophie, the puppy, home, she met her soul mate. Being raised by dogs has made her identity somewhat confusing and she frequently acts more like a dog than a cat. When my parents come over to walk the dogs if you don’t watch closely, she will jump in the car in an effort to join the dogs on their walk. If we walk here in the neighborhood, she walks right along with us. She is a loving and affectionate kitten with an adorable personality. Although no cat can ever replace Tweek, Betsey has taken up residence in our hearts.
Sophie, our 7 month old boxer/gladiator mastiff, rounds out the group. I think I have related the story of her adoption before, but I’ll quickly go over it again. A good friend at work, Joey Willis, had puppies and Peyton and I went over to see them when they were only a week old. Peyton bonded right away with Sophie, named her, and we talked about possibly getting her when she was old enough. Then I was diagnosed with cancer and we decided that a puppy and fighting cancer were just a bit too much to handle all at once. So we declined adopting her. We went and saw the puppies one more time before they were adopted out, and again, Sophie spent all her time with Peyton. They had quite a bond. A few weeks later Joey and I were talking about the puppies and their new homes and she reluctantly related to me that Sophie still had not found a good home, that she sits at the gate like she is waiting for someone to come and get her. Joey said she had never seen a puppy behave like this, like she has a family, she is just patiently waiting for them to come and take her. That tugged at my heart strings and I thought, maybe I am supposed to have this dog, maybe this is just what we need. So I asked Joey if I could bring her home for “a test drive” to see how she integrated in with the other pets in our lives. She fit right in, Peyton was totally in love, and I knew then that she would become a member of our household. I have never regretted this decision (okay, maybe when she chewed up that Christmas decoration…I might have) and she is an energetic and loving addition to our lives. She adores her people and has to be with them all the time. If we are home, she is right there, on our feet, next to us on the couch or bed, wherever, as long as she is next to the people she loves. She is personality plus and is a wonderful puppy. I don’t regret the decision to get her, and I can’t imagine I ever will. I think it has also been somewhat cathartic for Peyton to be able to have a puppy to love, to talk to and to focus her energy on while I am battling this disease. Sophie and Betsey are the best of friends and they chase each other around the house, wrestling and chewing on each other. It has become a little more disturbing as Sophie has grown, and I worry about this 60 pound puppy with this little 6 pound kittens head inside her mouth. But, they seem to have some sort of accord, and neither has been seriously injured in the melee.So these are a part of me, a part of my family. They bring me so much genuine joy and pleasure to my life; I can’t imagine my world without them. Like my new Christmas ornament clearly states, Love me, Love my dog. I think that says it all.
