Rest in Peace, Jake

Jake before his illness
It's a sad day for our house. I had have my cat, my friend, Jake euthanized. I brought Jake into our marriage from my former household. I got him about a year before I met Cat, and we have had him all during the 6 plus years we have been a couple.

Jake was an alpha male, but a considerate one. When Jeremy, my twenty-five year old Persian mix, started declining, Jake always let Jeremy get to the food bowl first, but he insisted being next.

Cat and I noticed that Jake limping around the house. Just a little at first, but it became worse each month. He had developed a shoulder tumor that evently crippled him. It finally got to the place where he had to be helped to get to his food and get to the litter box. Finally, I knew keeping him alive was cruelty, so I did the right thing by him and had his life mercifully ended.

A few weeks ago, Cat and I adopted another cat we call "Dakota" from the city shelter. Like Jeremey, he is a gray, Persian mix. Life goes on, but it's good to remember all the things that bring us joy along the way.

Goodbye, my gentle friend.

RIP Whiner

Whiner with our friend, John Thompson

Today Cat and I had to fulfill a painful responsibility for all pet owners and lovers. We had to have our cat named "Whiner" euthanized.

Whiner was part of Cat's house when we "blended" our houses together. Orginally, his name was "Prince", but soon afterwards Cat changed his name due to his constant meowing, usually for food.

Whiner was about 12 years old, but had been declining lately. He also wasn't taking care of himself at all. He had lost a lot of weight and was having trouble getting around. It got to the point where keeping him alive was cruel.

So we took him to the vet who advised us to end his suffering. So we acted in his best interest. He now rests in our back yard where he enjoyed laying out in the Oklahoma sun.

Goodbye our friend and companion.

Dog Sitting

We looked after a friend and fellow teacher's dog, named Oscar, for him while he visited family in the East during the Winter Break.

Oscar

Our dog Tutor had the usual "territorial issues" in the beginning, but at the end they would occasionally play with one another.