Leonard Left Us...

Sweet Leonard, our beautiful moustached kitty, crossed the Rainbow Bridge Friday morning. He fought hard in his battle with cancer, but it had spread, and his colon, lymph nodes, and liver had all become involved.

He quit eating on Wednesday, but let me syringe feed him baby food. He came in the house and spent time watching TV on our laps Wednesday and Thursday. I could tell onThursday that he was uncomfortable, since he was going to work with me during the day. I gave him a little Torbugesic elixir (a pain medication) on Thursday night and I held him in my arms as we tearfully euthanized him on Friday morning.

I let Hot Rod and Rocky see him afterward so they would understand that their guardian, "Chief Cat" was not coming home. Hot Rod curled up with him and bathed him for a couple of minutes; Rocky came over and sniffed and disappeared under a bush. He didn't come out for a meal until Sunday night. Leonard's warm outgoing personality and his gentle way of caring for our kitties in need are irreplaceable and will be deeply missed....

Rest in peace gentle spirit!

A Day At The Fair

Scooter, Holly & Tess spent the day at the San Diego County Fair today, where it was "Kids Day" and they had a blast! Kids, kids everywhere and everyone there to pet them. While Tess needed a 3 hour nap, Scooter needed several little ones, and Holly stayed awake the entire day, just in case she missed a set of hands to pet her!

We made some great new friends, and had the wonderful opportunity to share the joys of owning senior and handicapped pets ~ Scooter and I even gave a little presentation on the stage at the Ag Education building!

Charlie Died This Morning...

Quietly at home surrounded by all of us. Our last check of his bloodwork on Thursday confirmed his time with us would be short. His anemia had worsened, and his white blood cell count had soared, very common in late stages of cancer.

He continued to eat pretty well until Friday, and "demanded" help to go outside so he could potty and cruise the property; he needed to stop and rest, but he still helped to feed the farm animals and the cats too.

I decided to take him to the beach last night ~ I knew deep down he would be passing soon, and it's the one place I hadn't taken him yet. We loaded him into the car and went to Del Mar dog beach to watch the sunset. He rode in the wagon down to the water and watched a couple of dogs playing ball and walked a little in the sand. We met a group of people who sat with us and spent some time petting and talking to him. To see so many people doting over a dog who was discarded to die just 3 weeks ago was a wonderful sight that brought tears to my eyes. The pictures below were taken after dark once they had left.

It seems silly to say the house feels empty without him, but his presence is missed by all of us, especially Melody and Holly, who spent some time this morning grooming his ears and face.

Rest in peace, handsome prince ~ we loved the time we spent with you!

Pepper, Do You Feel A Breeze?

Pepper had a little mishap of "unknown origin" that left a laceration in her rear end which needed some attention and a couple of sutures too! The poor girl had a dime-size hole in a very inconvenient location, so with a little sedation, our general practitioner Dr. Booman was able to do a good exam and found that her anal gland is still intact. Then we clipped and cleaned the area and she place 3 sutures to help the hole heal faster. Until the sutures come out ~ 2 weeks ~ she's relocated to indoor accomodations, namely Scooter's crate. She's enjoying the attention and eating meals without anyone to steal her food, but is missing her afternoon naps in the sun. We're all hoping she looks before she sits down once she's back in the Cabana!

Golden Love

The last 24 hours have been tough for Charlie. His cough worsened, and a recheck of his x-rays and labwork show that he is more anemic and his lungs are declining too, definitely full of "mets" (metastasis from a primary tumor somewhere). We now have no doubts that he does have cancer.

Charlie has started Chinese herbs and supportive care. Our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin is working on a homeopathic remedy for him, and he's on antibiotics and prednisolone too. As of tonight, he is eating again, with a preference for hamburgers! The other animals intuitively hang closer with someone who's not doing well. Quincy is in the picture hanging out with Charlie, and just out of camera range, Tess and Melody have started their bedside vigil too.

We knew when he came home with us that Charlie may not be with us long, but that's why we started the sanctuary in the first place. Every cloudy-eyed, grey-muzzled furpurson deserves a chance to have a warm bed and know love!