Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year


Merry Christmas from Magoo, Smudge, Bella and Dolce!


Everyone here hopes that all our furriends are having a great holiday break.

Smudge is doing well. He still is not eating as much as we would like, but I have seen him at the food bowls a couple of times which is a little reassuring. He is as playful as always and fell in love with the Whirly-Bird cat toy he got from Skeezix. The picture above is from a Nip session on the Saturday before Christmas.

Smudge has proven himslef to be the Lover of our foursome in yet another way. We sent him off to visit Grandma for a sleepover. Now Grandma has a cat named Cloe. I have to take her word for it, because in four years I and my wife have never seen the cat. I was beginning to wonder if Alzheimers' was setting in, because the dear MIL kept talking about this cat that noone had seen but her. It took Smudge less than a minute to work his magic. Cloe came bounding out to greet this new visitor. The MIL said that Smudge and her sat beside each other and Cloe followed him around wherever he went. When we went to pick Smudge up, m wife and I finally saw this suposed cat named Cloe. Cloe was all rubby and purry and very talkative for the first time in four years. After we got Smudge home, we got a phone call from the MIL; Cloe was besides herself searching for her new friend.

We are sending Smudge over to Grandma's for two weeks. One reason is that we are taking a trip and the other is that Cloe doesn't like his food and he doesn't like hers. We want to see if the less chaotic household of Grandma will help him put on some weight. Although I would break my heart not to have him here all the time, I know he loves his Grandma and it might do him some good. If it helps him plateau from his CRF, then it might evolve into a longer term situation.

PS: In regards to the ending of the story, "Guard Well, Old Shep", there were some readers that were upset that I didn't let Tom know what had happened to Shep. I didn't realize that miracles have become so scarce that people can no longer see the signs. When Shep went to hide so that he could pass (which is a natural instinct for a dog), there is no body because Shep did not die. Because of his sacrifice, he was given another task and he left to go and fulfil it. I alluded that there were only two set of tracks so noone would think that Shep had been taken away by a wild animal. Tom knew that there would have to be a body if Shep had passed away at the end of his tracks. For there to be no body, there would have to have been a miracle. I do believe that when science and reason can no longer explain, then miracles must be accepted. That all said, I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you. Dolce made me promise to write something funny next time. I told her to put her thinking cap on and help me think of a funny story. She refused. She says there is no way she is wearing a cap of any variety.

23 comments:

  1. Oh Smudge, you are such a good kitty!

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  2. Any situation that helps Smudge to get healthier is a good one, though of course you'll miss him. We hope it works out for him. It sure sounds like it's a good thing for Cloe too.

    We loved your story, and we especially enjoyed being invited over to share that special time with all of you and our furrends.

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  3. Good to know Smudge is doing well. I figured that God took Shep directly to heaven.

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  4. Happy Belated Christmas from us to you. I'm glad to hear that Smudge did so well with Cloe. Sometimes it takes a special cat to bring out the best in all of us.

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  5. I hope that his visit with Cloe will build up Smudge's body weight. It's good to know that he is such a love!

    Happy Holidays.

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  6. Mr Smudge's Daddy, we liked your story lots, and, like Derby, we figured that Shep had been taken directly to his reward in heaven.
    we likes that pikshur of Smudge. It's furry cute that Smudge and Chloe the Elusive gotted to be furriends so fast. We hopes he has a good time wif her while you all are on bay-k-shun. We hopes that Magoo, Bella and Dolce doesn't fink he has runned off though!

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  7. We are glad to hear that Smudge is doing better. Headbutts & purrs.

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  8. oh, if bein' at Grandma's would help Smudge, that would be so good! thank you for 'xplainin' the story, i though he went right to heaven too and that poor Tom wouldn't know what happened

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  9. That's happy news about Smudge doing better - I hope his visit is a good one!

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  10. Good news to hear about Smudge! Hope you and your family have the Happiest New Year! :)

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  11. I am glad to see that Smudge is doing better. It sounds like he will enjoy his visit with Grandma and Cloe. I hope he does gain some weight while he is there. Enjoy your vacation and try not to worry about Smudge too much while you are away.

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  12. We're so happy about Smudge. Cloe obviously wants to help Smudge get better too.
    We loved the Shep story and thought it was a great ending - that he went off to another existence for a higher order.

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  13. I wish your family a happy and healthy New Year.
    Thank you for the wonderful stories!

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  14. We wish you a furry happy, safe, healthy, flea-free, Temptations-filled New Year!

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  15. Happy New Year.

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  16. Happy New Year! We're so glad to hear Smudge is doing better and it is so nice of you to share Smudge with Cloe. That would be hard for my Mom and Dad to do, but maybe you're right about a change of scenery.
    --Jasper

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  17. Happy New Year!!! to all the gang. Thank you for letting us know how Smudge is doing. Sounds like good news. Yeah! He sure won over Chloe, too, didn't he?

    Dee

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  18. Merry new year and happy Christmas from Allie, Ripley, and Georgie-girl!!!!

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  19. A question I have with the story, "Guard Well, Old Shep", is did Puddles the cat survive? She was wounded with burns to her face.

    Dee

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  20. What lovely floofy cheeks you have there, Mr Smudgie! :)

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