Tag Archives: pets

LAWBI #85: Cunning Canine

news_LAWBI_bentley

One of our dogs, Bentley, looks like a cross between a crotchety old man and Falcor fromThe NeverEnding Story. Which is perfect, because, while he’s loving and clever, he’s also moody and stubborn.

Very stubborn.

We’re not sure what Bentley’s backstory is, but it made him smart and independent and pretty damned sure he’s not gonna do what he doesn’t want to do. It’s a bit like I’m Clarice Starling living with a furry little Hannibal Lecter — I understand that he respects me to a point, in an amused sort of way, but I still don’t go to sleep until I know he’s asleep.

And sometimes he’s faking.

Bentley currently has an eye infection. Giving him eyedrops is roughly akin to trying to pull your wedding ring out of the sink drain while a blindfolded psychopath plays with the switch for the disposal, listening and sensing your movements and different tricks … and learning. If I don’t mix it up constantly, I’m gonna lose some fingers.

Read the rest at Creative Loafing 

LAWBI #48: What’s the Matter with Milo?

Early last month, two of our dogs got out of the yard.

I’d been fishing the night before, and must not have latched the gate securely while carrying in my gear. I was outside the fence and calling back Milo and Sophie before they could leave the alley.

As Milo the White Trash Terrordog loped my way, his hips wobbled and rolled in a disconnected way that instantly chilled me.

In the car, he was so anxious — both about traveling and about this strange new gimpiness he was experiencing — that he ripped out one of his claws. Of course, I didn’t know that until I got to the vet; I just noticed fresh blood spattering the upholstery and assumed he was dying on me — visions of the “chestburster” scene from Alien, or some fast-acting poison scattered in the alley by an unthinking neighbor, filled my head.

Read the rest at Creative Loafing

Goodbye, Lucy

Our cat Lucy passed away Saturday night.

Lucy was a feral kitten in Rebecca’s old neighborhood, rescued by an elderly couple running their own “trap, neuter & release” program. While she never completely lost her suspicion of people in general (we have friends who have been to our house many times without ever seeing Lucy, even though Lucy was roughly the size and color of a fully grown Holstein), she came to trust and love Rebecca very much, and even warmed to me to a degree after I’d lived with her for several years–late at night, after the house quieted down, she would sometimes venture away from her preferred places to demand that I rub her with one foot while I worked.

Of course Rebecca and I will miss her, but we are saddest for our other cat Bagheera, who has lost a friend and bed-mate and cried all night in his grief and loneliness. We’ll find Bagheera another companion for his remaining years, but we won’t ever forget Lucy’s singular personality, nor the fun and friendship she brought into our home and lives.