Our youngest cat has been totally into the Big 12 Championship game. We know she’s a Jayhawk fan even though she hasn’t actually said the words.
Peace, people!
Category: Pets
The Adventure Continues
(Note: If you’ve happened upon my blog this evening for the first time, I’m chronicling an epic (for me) road trip that began on February 17, and will hopefully conclude on March 6, when I’m reunited with my husband, Studly Doright, and my two kitties, Patches and Scout.)
Somehow I survived the rodeo and related events on Thursday night. With a heavy heart–at least a nine pounder, I left my brother’s home in Houston and headed three and a half hours south to see Studly Doright’s eldest sibling, the beauteous Lyn, who lives near Corpus Christie with her husband, Mike.
Mike is dealing with some serious health issues right now, but he’s tough as an old Texas boot, and I have every confidence he’ll recover fully. I just needed to go and give him a kick in the rear to facilitate his healing. He’ll thank me later.
I stayed the night with Lyn and made her buy me breakfast at Hester’s, a great bakery in Corpus Christie, before I dropped her off at the hospital where Mike is a reluctant guest. It was hard to leave her there. My heart gained an extra pound.
From the hospital I drove the overwhelming distance of 35 miles where I met my cousin Diane for coffee in Rockport. Diane and her husband have relocated to this Texas coastal town from California, and we hadn’t seen each other in years.
We didn’t get to visit long, but it did my heart good to see her. Our first comments to each other were exclamations of how much we looked like our respective mothers. Again I said a sad goodbye and resumed my trip. My heart weighs at least 15 pounds at this point.
Finally I set my GPS to take me home. Of course I needed to stop for lunch–heavy hearts need extra calories–and came across a little barbecue place in the middle of nowhere.
The pig statue at Auntie Jo’s Barbecue beckoned to me and soon I was enjoying a pulled pork sandwich.
This kitty kept me company as I ate. I might’ve snuck her a few bites from my sandwich. We bonded.
With lunch over I became serious about finding my way back to Doright Manor. The GPS informed me that I had 13 hours of driving ahead of me. With that in mind I set a goal to get at least half that distance behind me before stopping for the night.
I almost made it, too! Unfortunately I ran out of daylight around the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. My night vision has never been great, but lately it is awful.
Tomorrow I still have roughly seven hours to go before I get to see Studly and the cats. Tonight I’m tucked into a hotel bed, watching The People v. OJ Simpson on TV after having dined sumptuously on Taco Bell fare. Ah, the glamorous life!
Good thoughts for Mike’s recovery and for safe travels will be greatly appreciated.
Peace, people!
Patches Sends Her Love
With a sexy, come hither look, Patches wears her heart on her cute little nose. 
I love this little cat, with her independent ways and squeaky little meow.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
What’s Up, Pussycat?
Patches had been in this position, motionless for the past five minutes. 
I don’t believe her eyes have blinked the entire time.
If I weren’t a chicken I’d look up to see what has her so fascinated. Please, oh please don’t let it be a gigantic woman-eating spider!
Peace, people!
Cats for Valentine’s Day
February 14 is this Sunday. You know what that means? Love is in the air, all around, just waiting to be celebrated.
What’s that? You say you don’t have someone to love? Well have we got a deal for you!
This weekend at Tallahassee Animal Services fees are waived on all animal adoptions. That means you could have a Valentine this Valentine’s Day and every day for many years to come. Without the calories of a box of chocolates!
Here are some of our beautiful, available cats.
Love can be yours.
Remember, adopt, don’t shop!
Peace, people!
Excitement at Doright Manor
I was in bed, reading the latest adventures of Joe Ledger by the light of my Kindle Paper White when I heard the sound of scuffling cats. My feisty felines do not care for each other’s company, but when they disagree it’s with a great deal of hissing and noisy posturing. This sound was the one they make when in co-pursuit of another critter. Not a good thing to hear at bedtime.
My first inclination was to let them handle the situation, but then one of the cats made a sound of distress. I grabbed my trusty iPhone and activated the flashlight accessory, pointing it in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there were Scout and Patches standing guard over a rather large lizard.
Cautiously I slipped out of bed and stood over the anxious cats and nervous reptile. I could see one white whisker poking out of its little mouth. The damned thing had attacked my baby!
Throwing caution to the night, I grabbed that lizard by the tail and tossed him out the back door where he landed on the porch with a satisfying “plunk.” That’ll teach him to mess with me and mine.
Of course now the cats are patrolling the bedroom with wide eyes and bushy tails. It might be awhile now before we can settle down to sleep. Maybe Joe Ledger and company can soothe my jangled nerves.
Or maybe not. At least it isn’t The King of Lizards!
Peace, people! I might be awake for awhile.
Adopt; Don’t Shop: Doggy Edition
I love volunteering as a Kitten Cuddler at Tallahassee Animal Services. The two hours spent at the shelter on Wednesday afternoons are the best part of my week. This afternoon, though, there were just four cats!
We had a big adoption event over the weekend and most of our kitties found new homes. Yippee! Now they’re out there getting used to being loved and pampered, and that’s how it should be.
The downside was that it took me all of fifteen minutes to do the basic chores, like cleaning kennels and petting cats. I helped with the laundry, but even that wasn’t a huge job this week. So I went to the dog side, and had a ball, and a couple of squeaky toys.
At TAS the well-behaved dogs get to participate in play groups. I haven’t been trained to oversee a group, but there is an observation area where I could watch the fun.
I had almost as much fun watching as the dogs had playing. One dog was a clown, interacting playfully with every other dog in the group.
That’s Chip, above. He’s a charmer. Laid back and cool as a cucumber, but always up for a good time.
I’m not ready to be more involved with the canines. Cats are more my speed, but dogs like Chip almost make me reconsider.
Go find your perfect friend at a shelter near you.
Peace, people!
Fees Waived Today!
If you live in the Tallahassee area come find your new best friend! Purrs and wagging tails are also free.
Remember: Don’t shop. ADOPT!
Peace, people!
A Cat Named Miriam
Miriam and I hung out together in the feline playroom at Tallahassee Animal Services this afternoon. She would definitely be a contender for the Miss Congeniality award at any pageant.
At six months of age, she’s still a kitten–playful and precocious, but with a sweet intelligence that is hard to resist. Her markings are gorgeous–very exotic.
Miriam is available for adoption and would make a terrific addition to any home.
I also played with Avocado, one of the great dogs available at TAS.
From the shelter website: “Avocado (aka “Avie”) is a purebred mutt, most notably showing characteristics of a boxer and black mouth cur (but smaller than both). She is about 2 years old and 45lbs. She came into the shelter as a stray (her owner was never found).
She has been in fostercare for about a month where she recovered from a severe case of noncontagious mange, a skin infection and an ear infection. Avocado has responded great to treatment and is now available for adoption!
She was virtually hairless and appears to be growing in reddish color with a black mask. Her hair is similar to a Lab’s.
Avocado is an active, social girl who enjoys playing with toys (she loves playing with them more than most!) and doggie friends.
She is housebroken, crate trained and alert barks when someone comes to the door. She does well with cats and doesn’t show interest in birds. Avocado travels well in the car and walks ok on leash.
She knows “sit,” “down” and “crate” most days but would definitely benefit from obedience classes. She enjoys going for walks and is respectful of fences (doesn’t jump over a 4 ft fence or try to dig under).
She has been around small kids and does fine with them. If you are looking for a medium sized dog that is active, smart and social but has a remarkable sense of humor, Avocado could be just the fit! Sweet and affectionate this girl is sure to delight any family! Avocado is spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, heartworm negative and microchipped.”
Come check out the wonderful companions available for adoption at Tallahassee Animal Services, and remember,
Peace, people!
Please, Please Adopt, Don’t Shop
In my experience there are few creatures more deserving of our love than those who have been surrendered to an animal shelter by their owners. I can only imagine what this beautiful cat, Stella, is feeling on her first night alone at Tallahassee Animal Services, having been brought in just this afternoon by her humans.
She’s scared, nervous, and confused. I tried to coax her into letting me love on her, but she seemed to say, “They’ll be back for me. I know they’ll be back.” I’m not ashamed to say I cried.
Then there was this big, goofy guy, Anthony. Look at those exquisite markings! Anthony and his sibling Mark came into the shelter as strays on the 23rd of December, but they’ve clearly been someone’s pets. 
They’re the funniest cats I’ve ever met. Plus they’re loving and eager to be petted.
There weren’t a great many cats at TAS this afternoon. But even one is too many when there are loving homes out there.
I spent a bit of time this afternoon over on the canine side playing with a dog named Beau. He’s been at the shelter for almost two months.
It took Beau several minutes to warm up to me, but once he did he followed me around like a puppy. I fell in love with Beau. Please if you’re looking to adopt a dog consider this handsome boy. Here’s his résumé:
“I am a neutered male, Treeing Walker Coonhound mix. The shelter staff think I am 7 years old. I have been at the shelter since November 18, 2015. I am available for adoption now!”
Remember, adopt, don’t shop. Visit talgov.com where you can view these guys and more on our virtual kennel.
Peace, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 