Here’s a summer update on the pets:

Our dog Bogie is over a year and a half now. He’s been a great addition to the family!
It has been years since I had had a dog and that special companionship he brings amazes me almost every day. Even after a rough day at work, he can make me smile, get out and exercise, have fun. He and the cats have come to a good understanding, especially as he’s mellowed out a bit.
Thirty-thousand years of co-existing makes for a bond between humans and dogs that I think is fascinating. We trust then with our homes, our children and really our hearts, too. And they can be assured of being with us where ever that is; arctic to desert to space. If we make to Mars, you know we’ll eventually bring our dogs.


We’ve been a cat family for a long time, with as many as four; we’re at three right now.

Linkin is our eight year old orange tabby. He is an adoption from the SPCA; we got him as a kitten. Of all the cats, he most enjoys being with people, although time spent on the screen porch is a close second. He's out most vocal cat.


Pip was rescued as a stray kitten from the neighborhood cat clan. Although 99% of them kept at a reasonable distance from any people, even as a kitten Pip would come right up to you. Unfortunately, he was also sick, and after a couple of weeks we had to take in, even though another cat was not on the agenda. The vet said he wouldn’t have made it another week. Thoughts of finding him a new home went away quickly. Pip is very quiet and likes his human interaction in small but frequent doses.



Skye is another adoption, after a death in the family. We are her third home. She took a while to warm up to us, but now enjoys the company, especially at night. Being the only female cat, the difference in her demeanor is fun to observe. She prefers a woman’s company, although mine will do if necessary.


Thanks for reading! Next up, maybe a book and music update. Later!

It’s been a while, but life and work have kept me busy.
And that’s nothing to complain about!

Bogie is about ten months and a big sixty-plus pounds now! He’s a great dog and we’re lucky to have him. And he’s lucky as well, if I do say so. I’m not sure the cats agree yet, although the cat~dog cold war is thawing. For afternoon naps at least, the futon is Switzerland.

We take him to the dog park about once a week and he’s everyone’s friend. They have a new addition there that works great, a dog washing station. It works a bit like a car wash, with a spray hose for water and soap, a hose for air drying and a selector for suds, rinse, conditioner, drying, etc. It actually works well and is worth the time to have a clean dog to take back home. Bogie jumps right in and out without having to lift him at this point.

I finished The Girl That Kicked Over The Hornet’s Nest, that last book in the Millennium trilogy. Overall, I’ve enjoyed them. Especially the last two that seem to have more of a police procedural genre feel to them. Having the stories take place in a different country adds a lot of character and color, although I wonder at times if I’m missing something by not knowing the feel of the cities involved. Think about what doesn’t have to be said in a story when it takes place in New York or San Francisco, for example.

I recently had my first hospital stay ever. From feeling a little under the weather to having my appendix out 24 hours later, it was a bolt from the blue. It was a three day stay, all told. All in all, I am lucky it was a relatively minor occurrence.

Hope everyone is managing the weather in their part of the world, whether it’s drought and fire, like here in Texas, or rain and flooding like in much of the rest of the country.

That’s all for now!

We’ve had Bogie in Saturday training classes for five weeks now and he’s doing great. He is proving to be a very smart dog; it’s the owners that have needed the training.

We couldn’t have asked him to be any better with the cats, too. Whether through our training or the cats’ laying down the law, he plays very gently with them and just lies down on the floor when he pushes them too far.



We recently lost one of our cats. He was fifteen years old. We miss the grumpy old man very much. We had him cremated and his wooden urn now sits on the corner of the desk, under a lamp, where he liked to sleep.

I don’t know how many of you from outside Texas may be familiar with Kinky Friedman. He’s an original Texas singer/songwriter, mystery novelist, and humorist in the vein of Mark Twain. If you every get the chance to see him it’s worth the time. I mention him because in one of his non-fiction books of stories and anecdotes, he writes “Epilogue,” a brief ode to a cat of his. I can’t imagine the sentiments expressed better. I’ve added a link to it below.

http://www.kinkajourecords.com/cudepil.htm

Here’s to all the happy memories our pets have given us!

Went to see "The Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart at a midnight showing last night.
It was great on the big screen! I bet there were eighty people there. Not bad for a seventy year old movie!

Whenever I watch an older movie like that, I'm always impressed by how quick and dry-witted the dialogue is. They don't write movies like that anymore.

December Dog Part II

Technically, the final decision hasn't been made, but we basically have a puppy.

Our friends kept him while we were on vacation and we've have had him about a week now. They took him for an initial vet visit and he got a preliminary clean bill of health. The vet guessed he has a little pit bull mixed in with the Labrador. So far he has been fairly calm for a puppy, I think. And he is certainly proven himself to be very smart. And what can you say, he is awfully cute.

Our issues in keeping him permanently come down to two: We have four cats and we have a fairly active social life.
The latter is an issue only in that I want to make sure he adjusts well to an occasional night alone. One of the reasons we’ve never seriously entertained having a dog has been that we didn’t want to leave a dog alone too often.
The first issue could be a bit tougher. I have had cats and dogs, but never a mixed home. I absolutely don’t want to create an environment where our cats are uncomfortable. But from what I’ve been able to read on the Web, it can be done. One site even mentioned Labradors as being one of the best breeds to integrate into household with cats, especially if it’s a puppy. And I must admit, so far so good.
Crate training will probably be the next step; it sounds like that’s the safest long term solution for a cat and dog household for when they’re left alone.

I would like to hear from anyone who has brought a puppy into a home with cats. Positive or negative, any anecdotes or advice will be appreciated.

Wish us luck!

Canine December Visitor
So a few nights ago, our backyard neighbor's dogs were having a marathon barking session at 4:45AM. This usually indicates there's a cat on our side of the fence giving them the typical feline "Fuck You, I know you can't get to me" look. This time, my flashlight found a black puppy huddles against the fence!

We kept him on the screened porch for a few days, while I posted notices around the neighborhood, but no calls so far. He is a great puppy! Knew about puppy pads, food and water bowls, was obviously acclimated to people, and was fairly clean. Also fairly calm for a puppy, I thought. I have to imagine he belongs to someone.

Ours is a house of cats, though, so bringing him inside was out of the question, for his own safety most likely. We found a friend who has a couple of dogs of her own who agreed to foster him for a while. If we have no callers over the next couple of weeks, we're in contact with Friends For Life, a very good no-kill shelter in Houston that will find him a home.

Here are a couple of pictures of our visitor. I think he's mostly black lab, but the black spot on his tongue make me think there's more in the mix. His visit made me happy and I thought the photos might make a reader or two happy as well.

Happy Holidays!

For the Motion Picture Crowd~Black Swan was great!
If you enjoy Darren Aronofsky films, this one deliverys that same reality bending point of view his other films have. Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis are excellent, along with the rest of the cast. Watch for Winona Ryder, too. I cannot say I've ever been a fan of ballet, but it actually makes for an interesting skeleton to build the film on.