Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It has real meaning as a time to reflect on what we are greatful for.
For 14 years I shared my life with this little man who I always felt loved me dearly even though he was not super affectionate to others. He loved dogs and he loved me and that was all that ever mattered. I think he liked my husband but he liked women more than men in general.
It’s over a year now that he has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to be with Bailey our former Border Collie. He also lived with Joy and now Joy has Sabie, who looks alot like Safari when he was a baby, but wth a different personality.
My friend and I talk about how we have more empathy for animals than humans and I do not think I find anything harder than losing a fur child. You want them to be with you forever. No matter how many years you spend together it is never enough. I feel that way about all the fur babies that I have shared life with but some a little more than others and this guy was one of those special ones.
For the winter I am in the home where he is buried. Flowers surround him and birds sing over his special place in the yard. Sabie, his youthful look alike, sits in the mulch there looking for salamanders just like Safari used to do.
I am grateful to have shared all those years with Safari, my little man who worked next to me everyday in three different states and loved me with his whole heart and I did the same.
Bailey taught me how to make you see a rainbow after that big rainstorm you had. I knew you would be surprised to see that yesterday, right after Joy’s birthday! That was my present to her I hope she saw it too; knowing you I am sure you made her go outside to look. The light seemed strange and it was probably hard for you to see but I knew you would see it!
So did you think of a name for my cafe? Tarzan, Cheetah and Freedom and I are all going to do this together and we did come up with a few names to run by you so see what you think: :Love Cat Cafe, Kit Kat Cafe, Le Chat Cafe, Meowy’s and Four Cool Cats Cafe. Do you like any of those ideas? Let me know. We want to make it very simple and provide food for all the many kinds of neighbors we have with or without fur and with two hands or four paws. You know how I love to eat, but Tarzie thinks he should be the chef, which would be fine with me. I am the brains behind the business and Cheetah and Freedom will run operations. All the food is free here in Hyfryd, did you know that? The dogs especially LOVE that. You can eat as much or as little you want and always feel purrrfect!
So you also saw the text that Jeannie sent you about that little kitten, who by the way, looks like YOU KNOW WHO! Yep, she sent you my twin! Remember when I was that small? haha. I am curious to see if the little one likes a dog though! I hope so! Well, you need to write me back. I miss you so much already. I heard you talking in the car about how much you miss me and that makes me feel good. It’s weird not having me sit on the keyboard while you type, isn’t it?! You are the best mommy and always will be and someday we will see each other again. Like Bailey always says, I live in your heart and in all the millions of pictures you have of all of us who live here in Hyfryd…We are never alone.
Safari is not ready to give up, nor does he appreciate all the squirts of natural meds going into his throat several time a day. Yet, I think he is getting used to it. Except for the Tumeric tincture he does not give me too much trouble as I tell him that he needs the stuff and please don’t spit it back at me. He listens 99 percent of the time and I don’t think I could ask for more than that. Like many cancer patients with 2 legs and not four paws, Safari does not look sick at all. He eats a lot, thankfully and Safari has always looked young. He has never really aged as some of my former fur kids. He is adorable, gorgeous, cuddly and lovable and I already think about how much I am going to miss him. I always want people and animals to live forever. I get the circle of life idea but I am not sure I am a huge fan. If I am reunited with them all at the end of the journey, then I will be okay with it. I guess that is where Faith comes in.
Two people in my life teach me about Faith, One is my dear friend Tania who is perhaps the most faithful and he led me to a place where I trust those thoughts more than ever. I do not know if she knows that she has given me that gift, but she has. As a person who is not religious but more on the spiritual side, that does not come easy. I think if you are religious by nature, the faith is innately there. The other is Dr. Victoria Summers, whom I write about in my various blogs for those who follow me on here or on social media. She is the rescue grandma of our dog, Joy. As a person with terminal cancer who was told 3 years ago she would be dead within weeks, I am more than happy to report that she is still here. She is a Dr. of naturopathic medicine and that, combined with her amazing faith and need to help dogs, strongly rises above any plans that some allopathic doctor had for her. She has work to do and her faith in dogs and matching the right dogs with the right adopters keeps her on a path of grace. Aside from that, she is another person I cannot imagine not being on the planet for me to simply dial up and talk to. Since meeting we became fast friends and I love her so much.
Safari doesn’t know he has a job but I have told him lately that he does. He is nearly 14 and it is hard for me to imagine not calling out his name to see where he is or what he doing all the time. He is my scrap booking partner, who loves to try to eat my stickers, bend papers and be part of the process. It is his hair that I get out of my keyboard all the time because he loves to be present and ON TOP of my writing as I work – literally. When you think how you share your life with someone for 14 years that is a long time. Some relationships don’t last that long! Ours has been a blissful marriage and I can say that unequivocally.
Here he comes out of the porch–probably wants some food. Time to go and tend to my Sweet Safari Boy. Or maybe he wants to add some more hair into the keyboard. It’s okay. He can do anything he wants; he always could. He has had that effect on me from the first day my neighbor Alaina put him into my arms. She knew I would love and take care of him. To her I am ever grateful. xoxox
Next week Safari and the rest of us are off to warmer climes in Florida for the winter! Safari is the happiest there. I always said he is like his Papa in that sense! And we can leave knowing he does not have hypothyroidism! Yes he is a 13 year old senior boy but his blood work and his thyroid profile was normal after checking it twice! I am so happy for him. He is the sweetest guy around and as my sister always says, she just wants to hug him! He is very huggable even though he sometimes pretends he is not interested! So there is much to celebrate and he will be happy to get back to his porch and fenced in backyard where he can eat and then puke grass with supervision from our dog Joy and I!
When you have a senior pet you are always worried about what is coming down the health pike. At least I do but I am going to try to just live more day to day and enjoy his wonderful presence and love and squeeze and kiss him more times then he wants, cause he is my little guy. Funny I have always called him my little guy but he has never been little! He is adorable and I feel lucky to share my life with such a sweet man. He and the other one I call my husband.
I am a spoiled cat as you can see from the position on my mom’s lap, as we recently drove through West Virginia on the way back to our summer home in Pennsylvania. We have been doing this for many years and I just turned 12. Both my vets say I look so young for my age and I attribute it to al the good food I get to eat (and I DO love my food!) and all the love I have bestowed upon me on a daily basis.
I was born at our neighbor’s home. Alaina Z. asked my mom if she wanted a kitten and I was really hoping to get away from the many dogs and cats that were living there on their farmette at the time. My dad was in Chicago, so mom just decided to take me in without asking him – something she is kind of known for. At the time, Tarzan a dark tabby that my mom was VERY in love with was nearing the end of his life. He was almost 19! I was sort of a goofball and took right over but I really liked him. She told me that no other cat she has ever had been as feisty as Tarzie. She really, really loved him but the very first night I was in the house I laid right on her chest when she went to sleep, as if to say, yep, I like it here and I am here to stay! Well, I cannot help it because I was a kitten and my name is Safari and I am a jungle cat – mom named all her cats after things having to do to with the jungle.
I was happy to be an only cat for many years after Tarzan crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, but when we lived in Chicago (yes, we lived in three places at once for 7 years!) we had a little yard and Suri, a pretty Golden Retriever, lived on one side and Charlie, a Cocker Spaniel, lived on the other side. I would get to go out on my leash and I liked to sit by the fence near Charlie. He really liked me so I started to become fond of dogs and hoped that one day I might get to keep the company of one someday.
That day came on June 20, 2008 when Mom went to Angels for Animals to see a Border Collie/Collie mix named Bailey. Dad did not go with because he had some workers doing a project on the house so she went on a Friday night and later came home with a 7 year-old senior dog that she quickly fell in love with. I loved her too, I did not like to show TOO much affection for her, but she was always gentle and sweet with me. Border Collies love cats because they think they can just herd us around like sheep! Well, not this cat!
Bailey had a lot of health problems it turned out and crossed over the Rainbow Bridge just after a little more than 3 years. Mom has no regrets. She loved Bailey so much and took the best care of her I was with her when she died and I was very sad and started to sleep in her spot. She was a very special person. She had her own blog of course www.baileysjournal.com. Mom loved her so much that she wrote a book about her and now it’s being published. I was hoping to get another dog to live with someday, but mom and dad needed some time, so for six months we were “dogless.”
Before Bailey died, mom asked her to please send her a sign in regards to another dog. It would take a while, but sure enough, Bailey did. On May 11, 2012, Joy came to live with us. Bailey must have told mom to go to www.petfinder.com and look up Border Collies. She did and found Indian Summers Border Collie Rescue – www.indiansummers.org and that is how she found sweet Joy. Another Border Collie! YAY! She is a young one though and we like to play together. She loves to chase me around. I pretend not to like it, but it helps me to exercise which I really do NOT like to do generally speaking. I am more the relaxing guy myself! Secretly I thank Joy for moving me around a little each day! I like to play with my toys but not for as long as I used to – it gets too boring, but Joy never does!
Since writing Bailey’s Journal and then Joy’s Tail www.joystail.com she had a suggestion from Laurel, a fellow animal lover (and reader of her blogs) that I should perhaps have a go at this writing thing and I could NOT agree more. It’s about time after all I have been around the longest and have seniority!
I just had my 12th birthday like I said and I am looking forward to giving my perspective on here because we all know a cat is way smarter than a dog! Well, I do live with the smartest of all breeds, so we MIGHT be tied in the brains department. Best of all we are all tied up in the love department and today I am thankful for my mom and dad and sister on this day we honor the men in our lives. I think we should honor our parents everyday! I will be reporting back here very soon. Nice to meet you all…
Sweet Safari Boy 