Author Topic: Backyard critters  (Read 104623 times)

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Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #400: August 26, 2012, 09:49:23 PM »
I'm sorry- losing pets always sucks

I cried so much - I probably will some more.  I never realized how easily one could love a pet so much.

I'll tell the story over beers at The Loft when I get down there.  I can't handle some parts of the story without breaking down, but at least I got to say goodbye to him and I believe in my heart of hearts that he knew that we loved him.

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #401: August 26, 2012, 09:49:32 PM »
Giant freaking spider on the plants near my mailbox. Including legs, it's probably six inches long.

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

Now to offset the creepiness of that, here are some pictures of a cute baby cardinal.

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)



 http://www.spiders.us/species/argiope-aurantia/


Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #402: August 27, 2012, 08:16:51 AM »
Very sorry Minty. We lost a cat the same way back when I was in college.  Best mouser we had, too.

how are the kids taking it?

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #403: August 27, 2012, 08:57:25 AM »
Very sorry Minty. We lost a cat the same way back when I was in college.  Best mouser we had, too.

how are the kids taking it?

They took it hard last night.  I'm a mess at work this morning.

I think I am moving into the anger portion of grieving because I really want to hunt down the freakING jerk who hit my cat and drove off and left him to die.  If my neighbor hadn't seen it happen I wouldn't have found him and he would have died alone in the ravene across the street from my house. 

I was able to find him and bring him to the emergency clinic but his injuries were so bad that the vet actually said the putting him down was the more humane option.  I feel good knowing that Howard hung on long enough to be able to say he loved us and got to hear that we loved him - very much.  I got to hold him, and pet him so those last couple of hours of anguish he suffered in were alleviated if only for a few moments.  The look on his face as they carried him away was, "it's o.k. dad, don't be sad.  I'll always love you guys for giving me a loving home." 

We miss him lots already.  We only had him for a few months but we loved him so much.

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #404: August 27, 2012, 09:24:54 AM »
I'm so sorry. (Leaving to cry now.)  :'(

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #405: August 27, 2012, 10:14:20 AM »
I'm so sorry. (Leaving to cry now.)  :'(

I've been crying all morning.  My co-workers don't know how to hande it.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #406: August 27, 2012, 10:25:12 AM »
I've been crying all morning.  My co-workers don't know how to hande it.

as someone who's made the mistake, don't rush out and get a cat to replace him unless you're really ready for another one

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #407: August 27, 2012, 10:29:20 AM »
I've been crying all morning.  My co-workers don't know how to hande it.

I'd tell you to go home, but that probably won't make it any better.

Offline 1995hoo

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #408: August 27, 2012, 10:38:37 AM »
Sorry to hear about your loss. I haven't had a pet in many years for a variety of reasons, but I remember as a kid when we had to give away a pet because my brother became allergic to the fur. That tore me up as it was and I can't imagine what it would have been like had it died.


Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #409: August 27, 2012, 11:42:16 AM »
I'd tell you to go home, but that probably won't make it any better.

I did anyway.  We're taking the kids shoe shopping for school and then to a splash park.  Hopefully some giggling children will help some.

as someone who's made the mistake, don't rush out and get a cat to replace him unless you're really ready for another one

My daughter has already started working that angle.  I would definitely adopt another cat because I love them and there are so many who need rescuing but my wife is a tough sell. 

Sorry to hear about your loss. I haven't had a pet in many years for a variety of reasons, but I remember as a kid when we had to give away a pet because my brother became allergic to the fur. That tore me up as it was and I can't imagine what it would have been like had it died.

That happened with our last boy cat.  He had something in his hair that triggered my son's asthma so we had to give him away.  We took comfort knowing he was going to a good family but it still hurt.  Nothing like this though. 

I'm trying to remain resolute that it's better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.  Probably also the same feeling that's driving me to adopt another cat.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #410: August 27, 2012, 11:44:53 AM »
Bringing this back on topic, I think the neighborhood birds got the news because for the first time all summer long, there was a large congregation of birds in the back yard feeding on berries that have fallen on the ground.

Offline Terpfan76

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #411: August 27, 2012, 01:45:37 PM »
I did anyway.  We're taking the kids shoe shopping for school and then to a splash park.  Hopefully some giggling children will help some.

My daughter has already started working that angle.  I would definitely adopt another cat because I love them and there are so many who need rescuing but my wife is a tough sell. 

That happened with our last boy cat.  He had something in his hair that triggered my son's asthma so we had to give him away.  We took comfort knowing he was going to a good family but it still hurt.  Nothing like this though. 

I'm trying to remain resolute that it's better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.  Probably also the same feeling that's driving me to adopt another cat.

A good friend of mine has a bunch of kittens that are ready to go. Free if you are interested. They live under his deck :lol: but he feeds them and tries to find them all homes. We just adopted two of them and they've done outstanding thus far. I'll try and post a pic. They are probably 8wks old or there about, but are eating kitten food, so they are good to go. Very playful but have fleas. If he knows that you want one or more, he'll bathe them and put flea drops on them. Let me know if you are interested.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #412: August 27, 2012, 02:15:25 PM »
A good friend of mine has a bunch of kittens that are ready to go. Free if you are interested. They live under his deck :lol: but he feeds them and tries to find them all homes. We just adopted two of them and they've done outstanding thus far. I'll try and post a pic. They are probably 8wks old or there about, but are eating kitten food, so they are good to go. Very playful but have fleas. If he knows that you want one or more, he'll bathe them and put flea drops on them. Let me know if you are interested.

Minty's not too close to you, probably a 9 hour drive each way. 

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #413: August 27, 2012, 02:54:47 PM »
Terpfan - I would just make your friend bath the kittens and drive 9 hours with cats in the car just for the heck of it.  Should be fun.  ;)

Offline 1995hoo

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #414: August 27, 2012, 04:38:06 PM »
That happened with our last boy cat.  He had something in his hair that triggered my son's asthma so we had to give him away.  We took comfort knowing he was going to a good family but it still hurt.  Nothing like this though. 

....

The thing that stung me worse when we had to give away our pet was my father's reaction. He told my mom something like, "This is why I didn't want to let them have any pets because they don't know better than to become attached to them and then they cry and argue when we have to give them away." What kind of stupid thing to say is "don't know better than to become attached to them"? If I'd been older than I was at the time I'd have called him a jackass to his face, but at the time if I'd done that I just would have gotten myself smacked.

It's been almost 30 years since then and I've never had another pet (my brother had a pet frog in the late 1980s), but seeing the friendly squirrel I've mentioned in this thread—he continues to come by our deck several days a week—certainly makes me remember why people do get attached to them (not that I'm suggesting it's rational to get attached to a squirrel). I don't know that I have the patience for a dog or a cat and our house is not at all pet-friendly with all the electronics and the absolute disaster area that is my home office, but when we visited some relatives in Florida in June we spent two nights at a friend's place in Venice and I really liked her Pomeranian. If I ever did get a dog it would be one like that.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #415: August 27, 2012, 05:08:52 PM »
I did not read the condo association dox carefully (or do a lot of other smart things before i bought, like not buy) but subsequently discovered a no pets rule.  I was really looking forward to picking up a cat.  I would have named it PUTIN!

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #416: August 27, 2012, 05:29:08 PM »
I did not read the condo association dox carefully (or do a lot of other smart things before i bought, like not buy) but subsequently discovered a no pets rule.  I was really looking forward to picking up a cat.  I would have named it PUTIN!

I was so happy when I moved from crystal square to the bennington because I could get a dog

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #417: August 27, 2012, 05:44:14 PM »
  I was really looking forward to picking up a cat.  I would have named it PUTIN!

JCA, you're really deep into that mancrush, aren't you?      :lol:

Offline Terpfan76

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #418: August 28, 2012, 08:03:39 AM »
Terpfan - I would just make your friend bath the kittens and drive 9 hours with cats in the car just for the heck of it.  Should be fun.  ;)

I couldn't do that to him, he just had vertebrae fused in his lower back. However, we did drive from Va Beach, well, he picked me up in Cumberland, to Las Vegas once. That was when he got transfered to Nellis AFB. We did that with a 140lb Rottweiler that got car sick :lol: Her name was Psychonag and that name couldn't have been more wrong. She was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known. It was so sad when she had to be put to sleep due to cancer. What a loving dog.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #419: August 28, 2012, 08:46:10 AM »
Actually, a better name would have been Putinboots.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #420: August 28, 2012, 08:57:58 AM »
Actually, a better name would have been Putinboots.

 :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes:

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #421: August 28, 2012, 10:30:39 AM »
:tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes: :tomatoes:

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I liked it! I thought it was cute and clever!

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #422: August 28, 2012, 10:34:04 AM »
I liked it! I thought it was cute and clever!

Cute?  Yes.

But corny?  Absolutely.  That's the reason I threw tomatoes at him.  :P

Offline Mathguy

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #423: August 28, 2012, 12:18:14 PM »
End result of condo association rules - a cat was saved from JCA

Actually, a better name would have been Putinboots.


Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #424: August 28, 2012, 12:59:33 PM »
There's no chinese restaurant near my building, either.