AZ Jim
R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
- Location
- SURPRISE, ARIZONA
Let me start that I have been owned by dogs and cats all my life. I am an animal lover. Hell, give me a long day with a gopher or lizard and I would love ‘em. That’s me. I have always been in love with the animals of our world. Mom and Dad were that way too. I grew up with pets.
I spoil my pets. I protect them. That is why I at my age do not have any pets now. I have the ashes of my last babies, Grey, Annie and Christopher. I would like to tell you about them. My first of the trio was Annie. She was an adorable little girl and she was so special. Our daughter, loved animals too. She had picked up Annie as a very young homeless kitty. Soon thereafter our daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. While hospitalized she asked if I would care for Annie. Of course, I agreed.
For awhile our daughter did better and went home. She called me and asked if I wanted to return Annie (from little orphan Annie) to her. I told her no in no uncertain terms. She laughed and said “I knew you would love her!” Annie was my baby. Our daughter fought hard, went through all the chemo, the radiation but we lost her.
Back to Annie. If I laid down to sleep, Annie was on my stomach, also sound asleep. If I picked her up and waded in a lake, she was on my shoulder perfect content that her “daddy” would protect her. I once had a two story home I was painting, my wife, Detta, shouted up to me on my ladder that Annie was on her way up. That little cat climbed the rungs in that ladder one rung at a time and soon was by my side on a one story garage roof where I was painting the second story on another ladder. Annie traveled to more states and more miles than many do in their entire lives. She was a great little passenger. I loved her dearly. She died with a liver cancer. Broke our hearts. I used to see her in my mind, almost as though she was there.
Christopher came along next. Our next door neighbor who was an elderly widow, she had a daughter who was a lawyer. She had found a little stray black and white kitty. She took it home to my neighbor. My neighbor came over to show him off. She went home, Christopher stayed. My neighbor said she left him because she said she knew of no one who would take better care of him. He was a sweet little guy. Always calm. Years later he had a massive stroke and died in my arms.
Then there was Grey. Grey was a stray who my across the street neighbor had been feeding. This was in South Dakota. Shortly after I first saw him winter had hit. My neighbors were wonderful people but like lots of others didn’t realize that a little cat cannot deal outside during a blizzard. I spotted him during a huge blizzard in 1996. I want watched him trying to find shelter. I couldn’t stand it. I went over and picked him up, brought him to our house and made him a bed in the garage and put a heat lamp above his nest. He was absolutely exhausted and after some food went sound asleep. The next two days he stayed with us. Then I went to the neighbor and asked if I could have Grey. They said yes and he was ours. We only had Grey for a year and even though we took him to the vet and got his shots, he died because the vet said when he was on his own he got a spore that eventually killed him.
Now this probably looks, and reads like a sad little story of loss, but sandwiched in between the sadness, was so many wonderful memories of our little charges that made it all worthwhile. Now, with Detta and I not being real healthy and because we are old, we have no pets. In the case of Detta, the trip hazard of a pet makes it dangerous and in my case, I don’t want to strand a little pet if I can’t care for one. Since writing this I lost my my lifelong love and wife, Detta RIP Honey.
I spoil my pets. I protect them. That is why I at my age do not have any pets now. I have the ashes of my last babies, Grey, Annie and Christopher. I would like to tell you about them. My first of the trio was Annie. She was an adorable little girl and she was so special. Our daughter, loved animals too. She had picked up Annie as a very young homeless kitty. Soon thereafter our daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. While hospitalized she asked if I would care for Annie. Of course, I agreed.
For awhile our daughter did better and went home. She called me and asked if I wanted to return Annie (from little orphan Annie) to her. I told her no in no uncertain terms. She laughed and said “I knew you would love her!” Annie was my baby. Our daughter fought hard, went through all the chemo, the radiation but we lost her.
Back to Annie. If I laid down to sleep, Annie was on my stomach, also sound asleep. If I picked her up and waded in a lake, she was on my shoulder perfect content that her “daddy” would protect her. I once had a two story home I was painting, my wife, Detta, shouted up to me on my ladder that Annie was on her way up. That little cat climbed the rungs in that ladder one rung at a time and soon was by my side on a one story garage roof where I was painting the second story on another ladder. Annie traveled to more states and more miles than many do in their entire lives. She was a great little passenger. I loved her dearly. She died with a liver cancer. Broke our hearts. I used to see her in my mind, almost as though she was there.
Christopher came along next. Our next door neighbor who was an elderly widow, she had a daughter who was a lawyer. She had found a little stray black and white kitty. She took it home to my neighbor. My neighbor came over to show him off. She went home, Christopher stayed. My neighbor said she left him because she said she knew of no one who would take better care of him. He was a sweet little guy. Always calm. Years later he had a massive stroke and died in my arms.
Then there was Grey. Grey was a stray who my across the street neighbor had been feeding. This was in South Dakota. Shortly after I first saw him winter had hit. My neighbors were wonderful people but like lots of others didn’t realize that a little cat cannot deal outside during a blizzard. I spotted him during a huge blizzard in 1996. I want watched him trying to find shelter. I couldn’t stand it. I went over and picked him up, brought him to our house and made him a bed in the garage and put a heat lamp above his nest. He was absolutely exhausted and after some food went sound asleep. The next two days he stayed with us. Then I went to the neighbor and asked if I could have Grey. They said yes and he was ours. We only had Grey for a year and even though we took him to the vet and got his shots, he died because the vet said when he was on his own he got a spore that eventually killed him.
Now this probably looks, and reads like a sad little story of loss, but sandwiched in between the sadness, was so many wonderful memories of our little charges that made it all worthwhile. Now, with Detta and I not being real healthy and because we are old, we have no pets. In the case of Detta, the trip hazard of a pet makes it dangerous and in my case, I don’t want to strand a little pet if I can’t care for one. Since writing this I lost my my lifelong love and wife, Detta RIP Honey.
