Hey guys, I'm Lir!!!! I am a purebred husky that was caught in Dallas, Texas by animal control and I was shipped up to Saints Elswhere rescue in Ohio where mom found me on petfinder.com. My one year gotchaversary is coming up on 13th July!

I might blog some. Mom says it is okay. My big brother Orrin that I never met won't mind. 

Nice to meet you!!!
​

A post by Eva

eUm... hi guys. I'm Eva. I am not quite as people-friendly as Orrin but I want to take a minute to let you know he won't be blogging anymore. I know he didn't do it very often anyway. He was too busy tending to his cats and hedgehogs and whatnot.

Orrin left us. He left ME! He took care of me when I was skinny and sick and weak but he's gone now. I have to take care of Mom and Dad. They aren't doing so well. Orrin was as white as the school paste that holds awkward crafts together and with him gone things seem to scatter apart.

We're going to get through this. I know it. Mom says so and Mom is always right... at least eventually.

Orrin had been struggling, at 12 years old, with arthritis, dementia and something called partial larangyal paralysis which made it hard for him to breathe. On 3-10-2019 his favourite cat, Poitin, had to be put down for renal failure as a complication of feline leukemia virus. After Poitin did not come home Orrin declined rapidly.

On 3-11-2019 Orrin was struggling to stand and struggled to breathe. He went to the emergency vet and the vet thought some new medicine would make a difference. Orrin came home to try.

A few hours after being on the new medication the struggle to breathe intensified and Orrin started to scream. Mom said he would never suffer but all of a sudden it was happening. I saw her break. And then they left and he didn't come home.

I don't know if I will try to take over his blog. I don't really like anyone but Mom and Dad and my cats. I just thought you would like to know what happened since, even though he didn't post often, he had been blogging for years. I miss him so much already. You might miss him a little, too.

​I love you, Orrin. I hope to see you again.

Guys, it has been over a year since I blogged! I've had a lot of fun and even more naps but I think I should give up a nap or two so that I can blog more again.

You should see all of the crazy animals coming in and out of the rescue. Hedgehogs, like usual, but parrots and bunnies and kittens, too!

One of our kittens just got adopted. He was a lot of fun but, let's face it, I'm 10 years old now and I don't play quite as hard as I used to. Luckily resident cat Gabriel takes on a lot of the kitten exercising duties now. 

I'll be back much sooner than I was last time. Bye for now!

It happens, sometimes, that inevitable realities creep in. Bowser, the hedgehog, passed away just before Christmas. Strawberry Moon, a female betta fish who had murdered her mate a few years prior, passed away just after.

They were both quite elderly for their species. Their lives were lived as they dicated; their wants and needs were met. Like any family we mourn and we move on.

I find myself contemplating inevitabilities now and then. There is a saying that the only sure things are death and taxes but I don't think that's true. I think come spring I'll shed a mountain of fur. I think that Adina will always knock crap off of the counter if there is crap to be knocked. I think that sunflowers will always be my favourite flowers in the summer.

Some things cannot be postponed or protested. Death and taxes, yeah, those will come. So will budding crocus and green blades of grass, laughter in the evening over a comedy show, kitten cuddles and parrot nibbles, the hoofbeats of a pony, the way the air smells after rain. Those are all inevitable. Life is very, very good.

Mom is so excited. A person is coming over today to meet Pantera. It sounds like the perfect fit! The person works from home and, living without other pets or people, can probably dedicate a lot of one on one time to Pantera.

Of course, the house is a flurry of cleaning and scrubbing. It is hard to keep everything spic and span when you've got such a variety of pet mischief going on every day. 

To the best of our knowledge Pantera has had three or four placements before coming to the rescue. Everyone, keep your fingers crossed! We all love Pantera but it would be so nice for him to have the companionship of a special person of his own, forever.

Lately I have been needing to go out a lot. I mean A LOT. I woke Mom 4 seperate times last night. She is not a woman you want to see without her beauty rest. Have you heard of the mythical creature the harpy? Harpies have nothing on a slumberless Mom.

In the past I have been to the vet for my frequent urges to, erm, go and it has been determined that I get the occassional urinary tract infection. Apparently it isn't uncommon in labrador type dogs which is part of my heritage. Symptoms are increased water intake and frequent need to lift one's leg (or squat if you prefer).

So what do we do? Cranberry pills! Mom buys whatever cranberry supplement is on sale and I get 3 per day. Since I refuse to take them without food Mom will usually buy lunch meat to wrap them in, too. In a pinch I'll accept one in a spoon with butter or cottage cheese.

This means I am getting a lot of treats right now. I have to be careful because I want the treats to last as long as possible but I have to make sure that I let her know when I am getting better or she'll take me to the vet!

Michonne is a terror. Won't someone adopt her please?

Here's the issue. Mom bought me a dog bed on Amazon. It came in a big cardboard box. Michonne, like any cat, loves boxes. But she doesn't just sleep in them. Oh, no. She's got to attack from them. I know she is there. Eva knows she is there. Michonne still thinks she's a super stealth ninja and attacks us! Just look at my leg. LOOK! It has scratches! I'm surprised that I am not bleeding.

Morning is her snuggle time and I like her best then, even though I'm not usually ready to get up when she wants a cuddle.

I've posted about my shedding before. The sun comes back and - BOOM - it is like I exploded. My winter coat vacates my body like rats from a sinking ship. Mom can barely keep up with it. Sometimes it looks like it has snowed in the house since white coveres everything.

Mom had the good fortune of obtaining a really spectacular vacuum on sale last year. Even with a spectacular vacuum you can't really do much. The first time I walk across the room there is hair everywhere again. Mom doesn't like to have visitors during shedding season. It looks like she hasn't swept in five weeks even though she might have only five MINUTES ago. 

But if by June you are feeling nostalgic for the winter holiday season... all of the cheer and togetherness brought forth on glimmering snow... well then just come over and enjoy walking on another soft, white ground cover.

It is so cold outside, you guys! I don't even want to go out and I'm part husky!

Look at little Eva. With her short hair, even going outside to go potty is a chilling experience. Mom is making her wear her winter coat just to go out for a minute. Otherwise she spends her time on the couch and she insists that she be tucked in.

If you know of any people who keep outside dogs or cats, please talk to them! When the weather is this bitterly cold animals need to come inside! Feral cats need well built shelters and extra food since they are too wild to come in.

The snow is up to my chest at my house! I love the snow. I am going to wait until it is above zero to play in it, though. I don't want frostbite. Mama didn't raise no fools. Tee hee!

Lately, Mom has been carrying home the scents of two new cats. There is the dusty-dusky dry cat whose scent reminds me of a desert at the violet moment of evening. The other cat smells like the sunlight glistening through dew drops on new grass. 

She says that she carries home their scents because she is watching them whilst their family is away. She says it is a tag-team effort since another lady watches them, too. I wonder if that other lady has cats or dogs who smell her betrayal?

But Mom says that watching the one that smells of dry dirt in the gloaming is very important. She is elderly. She is dying.

She shares the affliction that Greta had; it is a slow regression into nothing. The failing of the organs and a decline from flesh into bone. Mom says the dry cat is so muched loved by her family and, while life must go on for them, they want their darling to be respected and comfortable. That is nice. They don't put her down because she is inconvenient. Still, hopefully they will know when she wants to leave and help her if her body will not willingly give her spirit peace.