I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The Animals We Share Our Lives With

It's late, and I'm on the couch petting the cat, Isis. She's been a very good cat all the years we've had her. I wish she was more amenable to other cats, but Isis is a one pet per household kind of kitty. I would want another cat so they could learn all her good habits. She's getting on in years. Her hip gives her problems, so if she lays wrong she hobbles a bit when she gets back up. She has difficulty jumping up on things. But she sure still likes being rubbed and petted, I just have to be a little careful with her now.

This past year friends lost all their rabbits. They were also getting up there, just like the rest of us. They were nice rabbits.

Another friend who also had rabbits just lost her last one, Annabelle. Annabelle was a good rabbit to her, and to many other people. She was a visiting rabbit who brought joy to many people in nursing homes in the Akron area. Annabelle was also her inspiration and model for her drawing. More of a companion that a pet.

So I'm just thinking about pets and how they affect us.

7 comments:

Dan Berlyoung said...

As some comic once said, "Pets are just little tragedies waiting to happen."

Making the decision to put my dog Zeus to sleep was the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Sobbing openly is not something I do too often. I did it a lot that day.

With all that in mind we go out and do it again though. Willingly, gladly, expectantly. Next summer we are planning to adopt a new pooch (from whatever pooch rescue organization we choose at the time) I can't wait to watch the little dudes get to know the new pooch. What a wonderful thing. I can't wait even know I know in a decade or so I'll be facing the very same sadness. It's all worth it. Every time.

Camille Alexa said...

Isis as in "THE MIGHTY ISis (Isis...Isis...Isis...)"?[echoing]

That's how I remember it from the TV show. It was one of my faves. They showed it back to back with Shazam and after Ark III.

Steve Buchheit said...

Dan, yeah, I remember when you had to put Zeus down. Not a fun time at all. But, yeah, I bet Alex will get a kick out of a pouch. I suggest a puppy that can tolerate ear pulling. I see Alex doing a lot of that.

Camille, well, she was named more for the Eqyptian prime goddess than the TV show. Right now I expect Isis is under the bed, as we have contractors in the house today. She doesn't do well with strangers. Heck, she barely trusts us, and we have feed and sheltered her for fifteen or so years now. It was only a few years ago that she would actually sit in our laps (she doesn't do it very often, even now).

Camille Alexa said...

Poor little thing. I currently have a dog on the verge, myself. I'd be very sirprised if he's still with us come Christmas. And I lost both cats last year which had been with me since the late 80s.

Steve Buchheit said...

ooo, that doesn sound good Camille, although that is the "owners" responsibility, dogs and cats live far longer as pets than they were built for. It isn't the fun part of having the little fur balls.

Leaf, Branch, Bark & Root said...

I keep checking under the basement door to see if the light is on for our rabbits. And then I remember, we don't have any rabbits any more. As much as I objected to Cei bringing them into the house in the first place, I was heartbroken when they died 10 years later. Orie, Sweet P, Sylvie - hope you're frolicking in carrots, lettuce and fresh alfalfa hay!

Steve Buchheit said...

Hey Leaf, yeah, those little guys are missed. I'm sure Cei is still longing for them.

There was something I read once about how we all have our web of consciousness and that when someone passes they leave a hole in that web. So we feel it (to mix metaphores here) like a phantom limb. It's something that was there and was so much a part of our lives, and then it's gone, and there's nothing to replace it. While you can add to the web, that hole is always there.