The Moo Moo

  Wow! Today is Marley's birthday. And she is 16 years old! It doesn't seem possible that I've had that little old stinky furball for 16 years...but I have!
  She was only 8 weeks old when Todd and I were coming back to Austin after spending Thanksgiving at Nonie and Dad's. On the way home a  lady pulled out in front of us and we hit her going 75 mph. Marley ended up on the floorboard by the gas peddle. The truck was totaled. Amazingly none of us were seriously hurt, not even Marley.
  She has always been a comical dog. She would run away any time the door was open. I've had to chase her many times, usually for several blocks. To her it was a game of catch! And she has always been a food thief. You could never leave a sandwich (Todd) or a donut (Blake) or ANYTHING where she could reach it. She just assumed if she could reach it, it was HERS!
  In her golden years she has slowed down quite a bit. She never runs away. She can barely walk two houses down the sidewalk before her legs quit working. And she doesn't steal food anymore. I think she would if she could, but it's just too hard nowadays. She can't see or hear very well. She smells like a dead thing. She spends the majority of her time sleeping. She wakes up to poop (on the deck or the floor or on the couch or my bed), she wakes up to eat, and she will sometimes wake up to watch TV.
  She has always been a true friend and a joy to me.She is more than a dog. She is my fur baby! And I love her! Happy Birthday, Marley Moo Moo!!

I'm Sorry Clementine. I Didn't Mean To....

I have made Clementine VERY sick. I put a Hartz flea collar on her until I could get to the vet for more Frontline. BAD mistake. After only a day and a half, little Clementine was almost dead. She was very lethargic and just generally not interested in anything. I've been carrying her to her food and water bowls to make sure she eats. Apparently flea collars are extremely toxic to some animals. Why are these things even being sold???
Here is a picture of Clementine before I inadvertently tried to kill her. She doesn't look this good anymore :(

Poor Clemmie...the vet said she will get better. It's just going to take a long time. I'm so sorry Clementine!

Naughty Kitty FREE to Good Home

Yes, Cleo is cute. But she is also a naughty kitty! Here is a list of the things in my home that she has ruined/torn/scratched:

• Cayman's gigantic green beanbag  --  has a hole chewed in it.
• Wallpaper in master bathroom  --  shredded in window area.
• Cayman's favorite stuffed animal, given to her by Uncle hours after she was born  --  nose chewed off. (This one is SERIOUS. Nobody messes with Teddy!)
• New Balance walking shoes  -  shoestrings chewed up.

I have always left her in the bathroom during the day while we are at work (don't worry...I'm not confining her to a tiny space...it's a HUGE bathroom). However, today I am testing her and letting her roam free in the house. I hope she behaves (ie, sleeps all day)!
And by the way, we're not REALLY giving her away! She's much too cute!

Christmas with Crazy Cleo

What was I THINKING??? Getting a new kitten right before Christmas is NOT a good idea. Need proof? Check out the evidence (this is before ornaments):

BAD KITTY!!!

And then...further evidence of what a bad kitty we have brought into our house:

She just couldn't resist the shiny ornaments, just hanging there waiting to be played with!
Oh, Cleo....it's a good thing you are so cute. Because you are really naughty!

Thanks A Lot, Cleo

As some of you know, we adopted a stray kitten a couple of weeks ago. Being a responsible pet owner, I took it to the vet to get it it's shots and to make sure it didn't have any diseases or worms or other gross things it could pass along to our other pets (or us). The vet (who is brand new to us  -  first time to go to this particular place) said that the kitten looked like it had at some point had ringworm, but it was clearing up. I asked if we needed to treat it and he assured me that there was no active ringworm. Above is a picture of the kitten (Cleo) with a SUPPOSED case of non-contagious, clearing up ringworm. Notice the red scratches on it's face? That's ringworm.

And here are some photos of my lovely daughter with ringworm on her chest and nose....that's right, RINGWORM! From the supposed non-contagious cat. Yes, I had to take her to the doctor, pay the copay, and then pay for an RX. Am I pissed? You bet. As a matter of fact, I've already called the vet and got a free RX for the cat, and I'm going to submit Cayman's doctor bills to them as well.
Thanks a lot, Cleo!