Petey is Still with Us!

About a week ago, John got out a special coin to take a picture of it.  The next day, he realized that he had not put it away, but he couldn't find it.  We looked all over for it but could not turn up the coin.  He finally decided that he had put the coin in his pants pocket and it had fallen down in to the recliner.  The one he so often shared with Petey, whether he wanted to or not.

We dug down between the cushions but didn't come up with it.  So, we turned the recliner upside down to see if we could shake the coin loose.  We didn't.  But we found tufts of white fur all in the coils underneath the recliner.

We had to laugh.  John wanted to take bets on how long we'd be finding white fur in the house.  I don't think either one of us would have guessed 3 1/2 years!  You win again, Pete.

Happy Birthday, Petey

Today would be the day we would celebrate Petey's birthday.  His previous owners said his birthday was in February.  We picked Groundhog's Day so we would remember!  And, it somehow seemed fitting.

Even though the little white shedding machine isn't with us any more.  We still find remembrances of him.  Most of the time in fur!  We keep a tidy house, but somehow every now & then we'll run across some fur.

John had a hard night a few nights ago and went to the recliner.  He began dreaming about Petey again, so he came back to bed.  He says now, that he is not going to sleep in the recliner at night anymore.  We'll see.

A Year without Petey

Tomorrow marks one year since Petey crossed the rainbow bridge.  It is not lost on me that I am having surgery tomorrow for hip replacement, and Petey's hips are what finally did him in.  What is lost on me is something clever to say about it.  :)

A lot has happened in a year:

• We have chickens.  We don't think Petey would like them.  They aren't quite as cuddly and not nearly as smart as Petey.
• Every plant that we have put on Petey's undisclosed burial site has died.  Is there a meaning there?  I don't know.
• We have done a lot of traveling, as we are true empty nesters now.

Some things have not changed:

• We find Petey fur on furniture that has been vacuumed more than once during the year.
• We still talk about Petey and wonder what he would think about various things, like the aforementioned chickens.
• We still miss him.

Petey was such a big presence in our lives that we will probably always miss him.  It is now with a laugh rather than a sigh.  In fact, I am smiling as I type.  I am glad that we had Petey for as long as we did and I am glad that he still makes me smile.

This Ain't Pete!

John and I are dog-sitting this week with Sterling's boxer, Calli.   When he asked if we would consider keeping her, I was totally willing.  Besides doing the right thing by family, I was glad to have a little four legged company during the day.  I still miss Petey.

I knew there would be some differences between the two:

• Male/Female
• Rat Terrier/Boxer
• 10-12 lbs/90+ lbs

I discovered a few things they have in common: 

• They don't know their size.  Petey was small but would have taken on a lion in battle. He once challenged a huge, muzzled dog in the park.  Calli is big but tries to get in my lap when I'm on the couch. (Here's an example of Calli thinking she is little.  She's trying to lay in Petey's old bed!)
  

  

  apparently she thinks if her front paws are in, it counts!
  

• They both prefer to be wherever the people are.
• They both pee in the house.

I had not considered, however, the biggest difference - Petey was smart.  I'm not saying that Calli is as dumb as a box of hammers or anything like that.  She's probably of at least average intelligence for her breed. Just sayin'

•  Calli does not know English.  Petey did.  We would tell Petey to do things like go to bed, or get his green ring and he would.  Calli just looks at us with a sweet, yet very confused look on her face when we try to talk to her. Even after Petey started losing his hearing, we created hand gestures to go along with the voice commands and he learned those very quickly.
• We would tell Petey how long we would be gone and he seemed to understand.  He seemed to have a concept of time even when we were here.  He certainly knew when it was bed time! Calli doesn't seem to care when we leave although she seems happy when we return. (I must confess here that I have had an almost overwhelming urge to fling treats in the kitchen floor and rush out the door when I have left the house this week!)
• Petey liked to play.  He & John would play hide & seek in the house.  If Petey couldn't spot him, he'd sniff him out.  Calli got very upset when John tried to play it with her.  We've been afraid to try the smelling game.

  

  let's just say Calli is a little more relaxed than Petey
  

I have said all along that we spoiled Petey. After this week though, I'm beginning to wonder if it is the other way around.  Maybe Petey spoiled us.

Petey's Birthday

We would have celebrated Petey's 17th birthday yesterday if he were still with us.  It wasn't as bad as I (Lori) thought it might be.  We took a little time over the weekend to remember Petey and we did so with smiles.  He made our lives fuller and we'll miss him, and we now remember him fondly.

A Kindness

John and I still miss Petey.  Yesterday as we were leaving the house after dark, I automatically reached to turn on a light so that Petey wouldn't be left in the dark.  I mentioned my memory lapse to John when it happened and he admitted that recently he'd thought he would put some meat broth over Petey's food.  Petey was with us for a long time, so we know it will take a while to stop having those thoughts almost as a reflex.  Most of the time we smile when we remember the little goof.

Then today's mail came:

It made me cry.  It was such a kind thing for the clinic to do.  They were the first to send us a sympathy card after having followed up with us the next day.  We both thought, that was more than required and expected nothing more.

I can most assuredly say that if we ever get another pet, we will chose the Berry Hill Animal Clinic to care for it.  We will recommend them to anyone in the Nashville area.  They took good care of Petey while he was alive and even remembered him from one visit to the next.  Now, they are taking good care of us.

Christmastime is Here!

We are looking forward to Christmas and enjoying this season of the year.  We are wondering though, about having to open our own gifts this year.