Cat & Dogs & Boyfriends, Oh My!

Yeah, yeah, I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been super busy with work & moving over the last few weeks. After four years of being the super duper commitment phobic couple, I moved in with Chip about two weeks ago. Not only is this a merging of furniture, it's a merging of pets. We've got quite the zoo over here.

I brought Bear & Gabriel over first, figuring I'd let them settle in with Rite before I brought Wes over. Wes is an alley cat I rescued a few years back - someone abandoned him, and he ended up hanging out on my patio. For 2 months, he stayed there, with me refusing to feed him or take him in. As sorry as I felt for him, I knew taking in another cat was not a good idea. I tried to find a home through the local rescue groups, no kill shelters, friends & coworkers. Of course, with him already being about a year old, no one wanted him - everyone wants the cute kitten. Finally, an ice storm hit, & Wes was sitting on my patio with ice hanging off his whiskers. Of course, I couldn't leave him outside to freeze.

Unfortunately, Wes wasn't neutered when I found him, & he was aggressive towards Bear & Gabriel. At one point, he left a 3 inch long gash on Bear's abdomen that required antibiotics. After he was neutered, he calmed down considerably, even making friends with my Mum's cats while he was there for a few months during my transisition into academic life. Bear & Gabriel have never forgotten though, so I've always kept him seperated from them, either in his own room or outside. It's not the best situation for him, but I figure it's better than the dangers of alley cat life.

Rite came to us pretested for kitty friendliness = some Greyhounds have very high prey drives & cannot be around small dogs or cats. Rite had four kitties in his foster home, and has even made friends with some cats around the neighborhood. I was more worried about how the kitties woud react to Rite then his reaction towards them. Gabriel is a very shy kitty & easily stressed, so I fully expected him to hide under the bed for at least a month once he realized there was an 85 pound dog in the house. To my amazement, he was even more brave than Bear. The first night, we put up baby gates and set them up with their own "safe area". The next day, I put Rite in his crate & let them explore the rest of the house, so they could get used to Rite without feeling threatened. Gabriel was the first one to venture near the crate - he carefully creeped across the living room, tip toeing like a panther about to sneak up on prey, and stuck his nose in the crate to get a good wiff of Rite.

Bear, Gabriel, & Rite have been living in harmony ever since. Bear quickly claimed her spot as Alpha of the house, as usual. Rite cowers if she hisses at him. They're still getting used to living with a dog, but every day they get closer to their normal routine. Gabriel still hasn't curled up in bed with me yet (Rite sleeps next to the bed), but I'm hoping he will soon. He has enjoyed sneaking up on Rite while he's sleeping & sniffing his paws or his nose, or just watching him - he is definitely the curious cat.

Wes is coming home this week, but I've been trying to find him another home. Wes has never received the attention he deserves, & I know that he'll receive even less now. Two cats & a dog is enough of a zoo, & adding a kitty that has to be kept away from the other cats will be a struggle. Unfortunately, I've faced the same problem I had when I first found him - it's about impossible to find an adult cat a home. As much as I hate to give him up, I know it would be better for him to have a home where he could get more affection. The Humane Society is not an option though, since I know he'd probably end up being put down, so I'll keep him until a suitable home is available.

My Summer Vacation

August was a family filled month for me. My sister, Meridith visited from Chicago for 4 days, and Chip & I took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my Dad & Grandparents. I used up quite a few vacation days, but I really needed it.

Meridith & I had an absolute blast while she was here. We've always been very close, but we've rarely seen each other since I moved down South. Most of the time it's involved her getting married, so wedding plans have interfered with time to just hang out & relax. Meridith has dreamed of embarking on a real estate career for some time, and is considering relocating here to make it happen. I hope she can - I need another Yankee girl to hang out with. Poor Chip was probably in a state of shock & embarrassment most of the time she was here - my Southern bred boy is barely accustomed to me after 4 years of dating, much less two loud, foul-mouthed, gregarious Yankee girls at once. One night, we were even admonished for being too loud in a bar. Yes, you read that correctly, in a bar. Monday night is Jazz night at the Handlebar, one block from Chip's apartment. Shortly after ordering our second round of drinks, our server told us that we needed to keep it down. "Are you fucking kidding me?!”, I questioned. Turns out the boss man was sitting at the table behind us & thought we might be disturbing people who actually wanted to listen to the music. While attempting to affect a prim Charlestonian accent, Meridith called several friends to tell them we had not been acting like proper, demure Southern ladies.

Speaking of culture shock, our trip to Pittsburgh was Chip's first adventure above the Mason Dixon line, and the first time he's been to a "bee-ig ci - tee". As we crossed the Penna border, I could feel my heart quicken with excitement. As much as I love Southern weather & the low cost of living, I'll never feel completely at home. I miss the Northeast - except for the cold, snowy winters, that is.

Pittsburgh driving was a big shock for Chip. He’s always commented about how I drive like an asshole, & he used to cover his face whenever I beeped at someone. It's considered rude to use your horn down here, so when Chip heard horns blaring & people yelling out the window at other drivers, he was bug eyed. He also found the total disregard for posted speed limits amusing. In contrast, South Carolina actually has minimum speeds posted on the interstates.

Dad wanted to see his new grandson, so we brought Rite with us. Greyhounds are aptly nicknamed the 45 mile per hour couch potatoes, but Rite does enjoy a half speed round of laps around the house in the morning & early evening. Well, somehow he caught a stray thread from the carpet in one of his back claws and ripped the claw completely out of the nail canal. Rite was unfazed & just kept playing, splattering blood everywhere. Greyhounds are generally very healthy, but they have a few idiosyncrasies, one of which is a predisposition to hemophilia. The rescue groups will tell you to find a vet with Greyhound experience to be on the safe side. Luckily, we found a vet that had experience with Greyhounds about 10 minutes away. She patched him up with styptic powder, antibiotics, and a big wrapped bandage. Chip & I were thinking how lucky we were to escape with a $25.00 bill – we figured we would be in for at least $100. About halfway back to Dad’s apartment, we noticed Rite was bleeding through the bandage. Back to the vet we went. She patched him up again & told us she would be open until 8:00 if it happened again. Sure enough, at about 5:00, Rite started bleeding. We called the vet back, & were told she was now totally booked and that we’d have to take him to the emergency vet. So much for keeping the vet bill low.

We ended up spending over four hours at the vet’s office. During our wait, I discovered something – Ewoks are real animals. Shortly after we arrived, a woman came in with her pet, and I swear it was an Ewok. The receptionist tells her that all animals must be kept on a leash or in a carrier. With her nose in the air, the woman says that her dog doesn’t belong on a leash, she’ll just hold him. She carried him around like a baby the entire four hours that we were there, and she was still carrying him when we left. This also proves my theory that it was an Ewok, not a dog – I don’t know too many dogs that will be perfectly still & silent for that long. At one point, she walked by Rite & petted him, making comments about how “maybe your Mommy & Daddy should pay you more attention, that’s why you want me to pet you.” Sorry lady. I probably have one of the most spoiled dogs in the world, but since he weighs 85 pounds, I can’t carry him.

So after $320 & an overnight stay, Rite’s wound finally clotted, and we were able to bring him home. Thankfully, the claw fiasco didn’t put too much of a damper on our fun – we went to a few clubs, rode the Incline for some great views of the city, & Dad took us on an all day walking tour of downtown. We had planned on driving to Greenville, PA (otherwise known as BFE) to visit my Grandmother on Tuesday, but because of Rite’s injury, we had to go Thursday instead. This ended up putting us several hours behind schedule to begin the journey back to Greenville, SC, but we didn’t think it would be a big deal. Well, there was a huge wreck involving a semi right on the West Virginia/Virginia border. We ended up stuck for nearly 3 hours. By the way, there are some scary people in West Virginia. We stopped for Wendy’s at one point, and I overheard a husband (with a bad mullet) and his wife (with a bad scrungie) joking around, and he said to her “don’t chu be sai-yin’ that no mo’, or I’ll kut – cha.” Yup, dude just threatened to cut his wife. We didn’t get back to SC until nearly 4 a.m., and poor Chip had to work the next day.

I took a crapload of pictures while on vacation, but unfortunately, due to a combination of camera issues & operator error, most of them came out like garbage. I’m going to try & rescue a few with some Photoshop magic, and I’ll post them once I’m done. I was hoping to have some fantastic photos that would be frame worthy, but no such luck. Unfortunately, I still use a film SLR. It may be time to spend some gelt on a new digital SLR.

I know with the dog emergency & traffic delays, it seems like the trip sucked, but I had a great time. We’re planning on another trip up next summer, and I can’t wait.