In Memoriam November 27, 2009

Our beloved cat, Toonces passed away this last Monday,  November the 23rd 2009, at the age of 14 1/2. (75 in human years.)

14 and a half years ago, three barn cats living on the same farm each had their litter of kittens the same night. A total of 16 kittens were born. The kittens all got mixed together and, subsequently, each mother took turns nursing different kittens. It was never clear what kitten belonged to what mother cat.

We were family friends of the owners of the farm and Lucy was in the same class as their daughter. We went to visit the kittens and Lucy and I were each allowed to pick one. Lucy went back and forth between a few different kittens. But I knew what kitten I wanted. Toonces. She was the only short hair gray and white tabby of the bunch, with hints of beautiful peach fur. Many people wanted her, her unique coat and chatty demeanor endeared her to everyone. But I picked her first. The next day, when we  went to pick up the kittens, the owners of the farm told us that Toonces hadn’t been seen all morning. It seemed she had gotten lost. I refused to pick another kitten and instead searched all day for Toonce. Just when all seemed lost, the owners of the farm’s son, found Toonces asleep behind a hay bale in the barn! That night, Toonces came home with me, and Myrtle, a long haired calico, came home with Lucy.

We called Toonces Jinx originally, but changed the name because she didn’t seem to like it very much. I taught her to give high fives with her nose, every time I said “pudgie” she’d sit on her hind feet and bunt her nose against my flat palm. She loved to chase flashlight beams, lasers, and the rainbow reflections cast by prisms. When she was happy, and would rub her nose against my face and hands and start to drool. She would yodel and meow loudly when she felt she wasn’t getting enough attention. She would crawl behind the piano and tv, get stuck and then yowl for rescue. She liked cantip that came shaped as cigars, turkey and tuna. She ate dinner on the dinning room table, and slept on my bed every night. She would get the crazies and run around the house, then sit for hours on the window ledge. She didn’t care if the curtains were drawn, she loved watching the shadows of the squirrels as the raced back and forth. She would cackle at the birds that ate from the feeder out front. And she would chase away the neighbors cat when she came over to use our lawn as a litter box.

Although they were sisters, Toonces and Myrtle were very different. They didn’t get along very well, Myrtle was most fond of our dachshund, Brock, who was elderly at the time we got the cats. Toonces was fondest of Henry, whom we got a year after getting her and Myrtle. Myrtle got sick and passed away when she was ten. From then on it was just Toonces and Henry. When Henry passed away in the summer of 2008, the house became Toonces’.

We adopted Phoebe in late December of 2008. Toonces, for her part wasn’t crazy of the young pup, but Phoebe caught on that Toonce was queen of the house, So Toonces didn’t fuss for long about Phoebe coming into her home. Toonces was very fond of Teddy, I think because of  his gentle demeanor and the fact he was scared of her.

Throughout the years, Toonces was my best friend and constant companion. She would sit by her food bowl and yowl at me to pick her up. If we left the windows down on the car, she would climb inside and sleep on the divers seat, leaving behind paw prints all over the windshield. She had the softest fur in the world; smooth and silky and radiant in all lights, it always made me think of the coat of a seal. She had beautiful green eyes, lined with white fur.  On her back and tail, she had tiger stripes, and on her peaches and cream belly, she had beautiful leopard spots. She had a perfect little white diamond shaped spot of fur on her chest. She was and always will be the most beautiful cat in the world. There was nothing more dear to me then that little gray kitty and I will never forget her, and no other creature will ever take her place in my heart. She was and always will be, my Baby Toonces. The Pudge.

Toonces, I love you and always will.

Love,

Katie

A Day With the Corgi Family! November 10, 2009

Hi guys, Phoebe here!

This past weekend I got to see Momma dog Pippin, Brother dog Finn and Sister dog Lucy! All three of them came up to Boulder for an agility competition at the fair grounds! Only Pippin was in the competition, but the other two came along for moral support (and to see me and Teddy!)

Lucy, Finn and I all turned one year old last Thursday, so we had ourselves a little party while we were together at the fairgrounds cheering on Pippin.  Lucy, Finn and I had fun romping around with each other, and we got lots of attention from everyone for being so cute! Teddy had never met my extended family before, and he was instantly smitten with Pip. He followed her around and cooed at her, and she flirted with him by dancing and showing off her agility moves. He likes Lucy and Finn too, who loved him and wanted to play with him like they play with Uncle Merlin back home!

Pippin did beautifully in the competition, sailing over every jump and darting in and out of every weave pole. She was definitely the best dog there. And Teddy wants me to add that she was also the prettiest dog in the competition!

Happy birthday to all my brothers and sisters!

Love,

Phoebe

Phoebe, Teddy, Lucy and Finn

Phoebe, Teddy, Lucy and Finn

Teddy’s First Big Snow November 1, 2009

Hi guys, Teddy Henry here!

This past week was super exciting! Katie came home from college to visit! I was so happy to see her! I howled and pounced on her when she came in the door, and sat up on my back haunches and reared up like a little bear. Phoebe completely lost her self in all her excitement and started grunting and squealing and jumping and biting anything and everything. Katie is home!

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, to have Katie home, on Wednesday it snowed! It has snowed here a few times since I got here, but never enough to stick on the ground. I was a little confused at first, and it made me kind of nervous, but Phoebe reassured me it was nothing to be afraid of. We went out to play with Katie once a few inches had fallen, and I discovered something…I love snow! I immediatly got over my fear as soon as I discovered how soft and cold the stuff was. I  took to bounding and leaping in the untouched snow, making little paths. Since I am bigger and faster then chubby little Phoebe, I am better at prancing in the snow. I like to get her to chase me, following in the tracks I had already made. We ran and leaped in the snow for a long time, I would tackle Phoebe and roll her in the snow and then bound away in a joyous frenzy. Katie would tromp around and make little pathways for us, but I preferred to make my own. Phoebe followed Katie’s paths though because she otherwise would get stuck in the drifts.

Phoebe also demonstrated to me that snow was not only fun to play in, but also to eat! Though she instructed me, very wisely I might add, to not eat the yellow snow. Phoebe likes to root around in the snow and get it on her face. I copied her, and Katie said I was really cute with all the snow flakes caught in my whiskers.When Mom and Katie went out to shovel the driveway and our neighbors driveway (because he has a broken wrist) Phoebe and I went to help. We patrolled the neighborhood to make sure none of our other neighbors who were also out shoveling needed help.  We did our part to help by chasing the snow that was being flung off the shovels and told it to stay off the driveway with loud bossy barks.

A few days after the big snow storm, Katie took Phoebe and I on a walk since the roads were pretty clear. There was still a lot of snow on the ground though. That was I encountered something else for the first time….something very strange and scary. A snowman.

As we drew near the man of snow, I put my ears down and let out a few growls to alert Phoebe and Katie to the presence of the stranger. As we got even closer, I realized that this was not a person, bu instead some kind of white mute beast. I let out a few barks of warning and raised my tail to signal red alert. This was the strangest creature I had ever encountered. His face was rough-hewn, with big black eyes, a long beaky orange nose and it had a strange leer. He wore a hat and scarf and nothing else…like that will keep you warm! What about pants? But the strangest feature of all was his arms. They were far too skinny in proportion to his body, and looked oddly stick-like. They were raised as if in attack mode, however the Beast made no movements toward me, Phoebe and Katie. That was when I noticed that the creature had no legs! What kind of animal was this? I barked a few more times to let the beast know it was neither welcomed or wanted, and that if it tried any funny business I would quickly attack, however it just stayed exactly as it was. That was when I realized perhaps I had been too quick to judge him. In all my alertness and eagerness to protect and defend, I hadn’t even thought that this beast may in fact be scared of me. It certainly seemed to be paralyzed with fear. I slowly approached, taking a few steps toward the beast and a few steps back. When it did not move, I approached it and sniffed it. That was when I realized that this snowman was in fact not hostile or a threat at all, in fact, it was (true to the name) just a big heap of snow! It wasn’t a real creature after all! I showed my sense of relief and my apparent dominance by peeing on its rump.We left the snowman where he was and continued on our way.

On the next day’s walk, with Poppy and Mom, when I went to find the snowman, he was half his original size and his hat and scarf were puddled together on the mass that had been his head. Poor snowman. I had defeated it, and it was now crumpling at my mere presence. I ignored it today and we continued on our way to the park. At Buffalo Hills Park,  I had fun rolling in the snow like I like to roll in the grass in the summer time. Poppy made snow balls and rolled them along the path for Phoebe and I. We chased the rolling snow balls and brought them back to Poppy. Now and then though they would break in our mouths and we would be forced to eat it.

I had such fun running in the snow and chasing snowballs I didn’t want to leave the park, but when we got home, Poppy made Phoebe and I our favorite treat; canned green beans and pumpkin mash with dogfood. We all then settled on the couch to watch TV.

Unfortunately, Katie has gone back to school, but it was so much fun having her here, especially having her here during my first encounter with snow! She, Phoebe and I had a lot of fun playing (both in and out of the snow) and I can’t wait to see her again, and for it to snow again!

With much love and many tail wags,

Teddy

Phoebe and Teddy October 2, 2009

Nap time Buddies! October 2, 2009

Corgis at the door October 2, 2009

The Pups! October 2, 2009

Company! October 1, 2009

Phoebe here!

Sorry for the two month hiatus! Things were pretty crazy there in August and now that September is almost over, it seems things are finally just settling down.

Teddy Henry has development a new found love of vegetables, and he is becoming a real green bean-aholic! Every morning when Mom and Dad leave for work, they put some green beans in our Kong chew toys and we spend the day getting them out. I love puzzles. I invented the Rubik’s cube, you know. 

When Mom and Dad get home we get bones. Teddy and I like to steal each others bones every few minutes. Once, I took Teddy’s bone and laid on top of it, so as to save it for later, and I continued to chew my bone. Dad gave him a new bone, assuming he’d lost his first one, and I stole that one too, and again laid on top of it so Teddy couldn’t get it. Mom gave him a third bone and I stole that one too!!! Dad figured something must be up, so he nudged me and unearthed by stolen booty. One was returned to Teddy and the rest put away for later.

 

Teddy’s new game is to come up to me and show me his chew bone, and make me want it, and then he runs away with it to get me to chase him and get it from him. He then hides long enough to chew his bone some, and then he comes sauntering back over, showing it off and teasing me all over again. He does this all day. Mom and Dad think it is so funny how we always want what the other has, even when what they have is exactly the same as what we have!

We both miss Katie a lot, and are pouty pups that she is back in New York and won’t be home till October. We do skype video chats with her every so often. It is really strange because I can hear her voice coming through the computer, but I can’t see her  since the computer is way up on top of the desk and I am not allowed to go on the computer unsupervised. Just because one time I went online and ordered 1,000 lbs of milk bones and the complete collection of Lassie movies I am banned! It’s really not fair! Teddy and I would rather Katie just come back here, but the skype is okay for now. Teddy and I have Cortie over once a week though to play with us and take us on long walks. He sometimes does his homework over here and we tug the books out of his paws because that always ensures a good game of chase! He is coming over tomorrow, and Teddy and I are very excited!

Teddy’s birthday is drawing near and the party planning has begun. He wants a pumpkin pie (that is our other favorite snack, pumpkin puree from the can. Momma dog Pippin’s owner, Polly, turned our Mom on to that goodie) and so I am delegating the task of  crushing up some dog kibble for the crust to Poppy and the pouring of the pumpkin paste onto said dog kibble crust to Mom. A good boss knows how to delegate. 

Anyway, It’s time for bed now, but Teddy and I will report back soon, we promise!

 

Love,

Phoebe and Teddy Henry.

Dog pile on Poppy

Teddy Henry July 4, 2009

Teddy Henry and Phoebe play some soccer July 4, 2009

Hi guys, Teddy Henry here

Phoebe and I have been very busy these last few days. Going on walks and romping through the house (our favorite time to do this is ten at night when Poppy is going to bed.) On Tuesday I escorted Katie and the pup to agility class.  We picked up Cortie because he wanted to come too. At the school Cortie and I watched the pups play. I would get nervous when Katie and Phoebe disappeared from view, and Cortie told me not to cry, it would be okay, they would come back.

After school, Cortie took us  back to his house since it was on the way home, and we got some fresh water there because it was hot. Phoebe and I also had cold water poured on our backs to keep us cool. It felt nice! I romped around the yard to get the lay of the land while Phoebe attacked Cortie’s feet. I let myself into the house to investigate and explore. We Corgis are the true Scotland yards of the world, not those slobbery blood hounds!  I liked the house because there was dirty laundry on Cortie’s floor for me to roll on. He decided if it was stinky enough to make me want to roll on it, it was definitely time to wash it!

I went back outside and Phoebe and I found what we thought was a Phoebe egg, because it was spotted like her, but Katie told us it was actually a soccer ball. So Cortie kicked it around and we chased it. Actually Phoebe chased it and I chased her. But it was still fun! Phoebe would sneek up and pounce the ball, and then she got too rough and killed it. At least I think she killed it because her little teeth  punctured  it, and it went all soft. However,  Phoebe decided she liked it better this way because she could  pick it up and carry it away from Cortie. It was pretty cute to see her carry around this big ball that was just as round as her! Although I was sorry to see she had killed it. I am a pacifist and do not condone the killing of anything, including Phoebe eggs…I mean soccer balls. Soccer balls are kind of silly creatures though…it wouldn’t defend itself at all from Phoebe’s or my teeth, nor would it try and stop Cortie from punting it with his feet. What a dummy!

Anyway, after the soccer game we went inside and jumped on Cortie’s futon, and got more water. Then it was time to go home. I got to sit shot gun but Phoebe had to ride in her kennel because she always jumps on the drivers lap and honks the horn. I really need to teach her some manners!

Anyway, when we got home Phoebe, Katie and I took naps and had snacks. I got to sit in the green chair and Phoebe had to lay on the floor.

Corgis!

Teddy Henry and Cortie