2021 in Review Part II: Away in the Menagerie
We're already up to the fifth day of Christmas-
- but only have one recap in the books before this one. Let's work on catching up.
Yesterday was my last Rochester trip of the year, and today I was tied up with finalizing paperwork for the second new big bankruptcy I'm plunging into this month, along with this afternoon bringing our annual office lunch here. It was down a participant because yet another COVID exposure has hit somebody that was supposed to come. She, fortunately, is only part-time in here and we've kept things mostly masked in recent days among ourselves.
For this post today, I will review the comings, goings and keepings among our four-legged crowd.
----
As this year began, we were still grieving the loss of Boz, one of our two just-rescued kittens from October 2020. Bronzini- his brother, or likely half-brother from another baby daddy- quickly found his own place in the home. Tolerating the good older cat Zoey, alternating between snuggling with and harassing the dog, and doing his level best to ignore Evil Cat. Michelle by then was by far our oldest companion and by further the most annoying. She'd always been loud, and demanding, and prone to pee when and where she was displeased with us, but by early this year she gave up her good looks, which were her only redeeming quality.
That's from shortly before Boz passed in 2020. By late February, she'd stopped grooming herself, making us give her baths in the tub to keep her from stinking up the whole house. Eleanor took her to her final vet visit, in early March of this year, when all but euthanizing appointments still were pet-only. They called her while she waited in the parking lot and quickly concluded kitty's kidneys had failed and there was nothing we could do, unless we wanted to come in for a final goodbye.
We didn't. Her pine box showed up a few weeks later. It, along with Boz's, still await planting in the bed of passed furbaby souls out front. We'd hate to annoy the other souls out there with her ghost yowling at them.
----
A few weeks later, we decided it was time to seek out a new playmate for the little guy. A few rescues offered and rescinded opportunities, but we finally came upon one in Rochester which had just brought a haul of dogs and kitties from a high-kill shelter in Tennessee. From that we quickly found love at first picture with a boykitty just about Bronzini's age, a grey tabby named Jack. We headed off on an April weekend for a meet-and-greet, and took him home straight from his foster mommy's. He's quickly grown to much bigger than the other boy, and is heavier and floofier than even Zoey. He and she are the only ones who really don't get along famously, and even some of that ice has melted in recent weeks. The three of them even eat on the same counter together most mornings and evenings without fights breaking out. Jack and Bronzini playfight like banshees, and then cuddle up with each other like the brothers of different mothers that they are. Strangest and loveliest of all is watching this grey tabby floof with the dog: Pepper will spoon with him, and he'll often walk right up under her chin and give her loving headbutts.
----
Our now-oldest has made it to half past twelve, two years after the vet prognosed her remaining time in months if not only weeks. Fuck you, cancer, Zoey replied, and without any treatment other than essential oils and love, her mouth tumor has stabilized and she's remained her sweet, adorable, feisty self. A couple of times this year, including ending just now, she's had a flareup of a herpes condition that requires eyedropping and antibiotics, but she becomes tolerant of the former after a few rounds and we slip the latter into her evening chow which she eats ravenously. She may not make it to the almost-20 landmark that Evil Cat almost hit, but she's already given us way more good days than that cat ever did.
----
Pepper has become the eldest among the regular weekend dog walkees in the group that goes back to Ebony. She lost Jazz, Jake, Ursula and Maddie from that pack during 2021. Quite a few other older dogs also passed during the year, including the very sweet yellow lab who lived next door to us. Jake's humans have now rescued a pittie mix who is very sweet to humans and Pepper but needs a lot of language cleanup when she sees unknown pups on the path. Others may join us in time. She's goofy and playful and retains a lot of her puppyness even as she's passed at least the six-year mark, half of them with us.
----
One more workday in '21. A final review or two will be coming right at you during or after it.
This entry was originally posted at https://captainsblog.dreamwidth.org/1681093.html. Please comment here, or there using OpenID.