18-Shelby, 19-Sammy

When I lived at home, I didn't have a lot of pets throughout my life. Mr. Baseball had TONS of animals. In 18 years he had about 8 dogs, and 10 other creatures (cats, rabbits, birds, etc.). This is something I have always had trouble understanding. How you could 'go through' so many pets in such a short time, but some animals don't live long, and some move on (ie: The Littlest Hobo). We have had 3 cats which we inherited all at once when I was 10. 2 having passed on after only a few years due to illnesses and one who is 17 and still at home. I had one dog, Mandy, who was there before I was, and I can't even remember how old I was when she died. 10, maybe? 12? We waited a little bit to get another dog, we got Shelby from the PEI humane society when I was 18 and about to move out and Mom didn't want to be alone.

Shelby is a good dog. She never bites or growls, she wags her tail at everyone, even when people are mean to her. She is nothing but loyal and trusting, playful and sweet. When I was home two weeks ago I was rubbing Shelby's belly and felt a lump. She had another on her behind. We took her to the vet, who booked her for a removal surgery. I went home to sooky her, because she is a good dog and deserves it. Poor Shelby looked so sore and in pain, but she was so happy to have all the attention she was getting. She slept a lot but was almost completely back to normal the next day.

Sammy has been with us since my grandparents passed away and left their mini farm full of cats. Since it was Spring there were plenty of litters of kittens around. We took two white kittens with black spotted heads home, named them Whiskey and Frisky, my sister and I were happy with our new additions. A couple of days later, returning to our grandparents house we heard a tiny "Mew, mew, mew" as pathetic and sad as you have ever heard. Looking under the step we saw a small black rat of a kitten in a box soaked from the pouring rain. Who could leave a kitten there all alone, in the pouring rain, when all other cats had been shipped off to various farms and houses? Sammy came home with us that day and Mom fell in love with her as much as we had when we saw her dripping wet and begging to be loved.

Sammy didn't like loud noises and would often hide out in a bedroom while people visited (especially children). She would slink out when the coast was clear, and climb up on an unexpecting lap, stick her pin-sharp claws into the legs and settle in for a nap. She was small her whole life, probably never weighing more than 5 lbs. Lately I don't think she weighs even 3. She enjoys plain Lays chips, drinking straws and plug protectors, which she would play fetch with for hours.

In the last year or two, Sammy lost her hearing. Before this, if you so much as crinkled a chip bag, Sammy would run out of hiding from however deep of a sleep she was in and come running for chip after chip. This also happened with a bag of Temptations. At 17 years of age, Sammy has slowed down a lot. Besides losing her hearing she has lost her love of the plug covers and straws. When I was home she no longer wanted Temptations, chips or even her Fancy Feast canned food. At 17 years of age, Sammy has been a good cat. Never needing to visit the vet, never attacked her owners, never needing much attention, just happy to have been picked up out of the wet box in the pouring rain, and taken home to be loved.