A Couple of Good Photo's of Our Kids

Teena is currently in Cuba with her sister on their annual spring trip. Whenever she is away, I always will post a picture for her of our two "kids", Crumpet and Morgan on Facebook. Morgan is almost eleven and Crumpet just turned two.

The picture of Crumpet above was taken just as she was finishing a stretch. No flash was used, and I think I caught it well. She has very sleepy eyes.

Below is Morgan. He was sleeping very cutely on the couch and I laid on the floor to take the shot. I had to put up the flash as there was some bad back light from an incandescent behind and above. He woke up and I managed to get a great "yawn" shot. I would have preferred to have taken it with no flash. Maybe next time!

Both are keepers!

Happy Birthday, Crumpet!

Today is Crumpet's first birthday. I took this shot this morning while she was resting between moments of bothering Morgan.

KC's Tree, 2nd Visit

Our dog KC passed away in May and Teena made sure she was remembered by having a tree planted. When we last saw it a week after the planting, the leafs were in color and mostly gone.

We were on a walk today and stopped by to see how it is doing.

It seems to be doing well.

Can't wait to see the leaves blooming in the spring.

KC's Tree

Our dog, KC, passed away in May of this year after 16 years. She went quickly which was a real blessing.

Teena did a wonderful thing. She contacted the city and donated a tree in KC's name to be planted in Trinity Bellwoods Park as it was KC's favorite park to take a walk in. The tree comes with a plaque to remember our girl. She did this in the summer but had to wait for the planting as trees are always planted in the fall.

This week she was notified the tree was planted and where. Today we went over for a visit. It is a beautiful tree and I am very glad it is a maple. Many of its leaves have already fallen but it looks like a very healthy tree. Like Teena says, the tree will outlive us.

Thanks, Teena. It is a beautiful way to memorialize our KC.

There's a New Kid in Town - Crumpet!

This week Teena posted about the Annex Cat Rescue which has many very young kitties for adoption. All are very cute but she really loved one and called about her. Last night Teena talked with her foster mom, Alexandra, who invited us over to meet Gigi, so off we headed. When we arrived home a couple of hours later, Gigi was with us.

We have renamed her Crumpet. At only eight weeks old, she is very tiny and weighs just a pound and a half.

She is a ball of energy, with a squeaky voice and loves to play. We're having a ball watching her.

Look how tiny she is.

Crumpet took to Teena's laptop right away. Maybe she'll become a blogger.

Teena and Crumpet.

Crumpet feels safe enough in her new home to have a nap. Look at how small she is!

Morgan is unsure about the new addition to the house. Currently he is sulking.

We were told Crumpet likes to sleep on the pillow. She slept above my head all night.

Saying Good-bye to KC (1995 - 2011)

Today, after a few days of illness, Teena and I had KC put to rest. She was 16.

It was back in 1995 that I first met the girl. My first wife and her friend had gone to a few garage sales and her friend picked up KC on a whim. I remember seeing her for the first time shaking in the backseat of her car. I do not have a great opinion of her friend and figured the dog would not have a great life. She called her Casey.

Problem was the friend was going to Ireland for a month. Would we look after Casey? We said yes.

Casey was a timid girl, not warming to strangers well. When Casey was brought over for us to look after, she was nervous and, being shifted from home to home, and rightfully so.

We had some leftover chicken in the fridge and I would take off a small piece and, sitting on the floor, would call Casey into the kitchen. I would put the chicken on the floor, away from me and she would approach cautiously, grab the piece and run into the living room out of site.

Then her head would pop around the corner and I would offer her another piece but closer. Again she would take it retreat to the living room and again the little head would come poking around the corner. Finally she was eating out of my hands and we were buds.

After returning form Ireland, my first wife's friend said she didn't want Casey. So she became mine and I changed her name slightly to KC. We were best of friends ever since.

She never took to strangers well. Ken and I were on her "A" list. It took 5 years for my mother to be able to pet her.

The first time I brought KC over to see Teena, KC took to her right away. KC enjoyed potatoes, something she did not get with me, and Teena always made sure there was extra cooked for her.

Teena and KC enjoyed very long walks together, sometimes 2 to 3 hours in length. Very quickly KC and Teena became best of friends. They were together 9 years. Teena's tribute is here.

We took KC to the park a week and a half ago for an hour and a half walk. She ran around like a little puppy and was not stiff the next morning as we thought she might be. Saturday morning I took her over to CAMH for a leash free run. Again running around like a puppy.

Sunday she had no energy. She went quickly downhill from there and, today, only 4 days after running around like a 6 month old pup, she is gone.

Thanks, KC, for always being such a good girl. Thanks, KC, for being a true friend. You always made me happy.

I will miss you!

Saying Good-bye to KC (1995 - 2011)

Today, after a few days of illness, Teena and I had KC put to rest. She was 16.

It was back in 1995 that I first met the girl. My first wife and her friend had gone to a few garage sails and her friend picked up KC on a whim. I remember seeing her for the first time shaking in the backseat of her car. I do not have a great opinion of her friend and figured the dog would not have a great life. She called her Casey.

Problem was the friend was going to Ireland for a month. Would we look after Casey? We said yes.

Casey was a timid girl, not warming to strangers well. When Casey was brought over for us to look after, she was nervous and being shifted from home to home, and rightfully so.

We had some leftover chicken in the fridge and I would take off a small piece and, sitting on the floor, would call Casey into the kitchen. I would put the chicken on the floor, away from me and she would approach cautiously, grab the piece and run into the living room out of site.

Then her head would pop around the corner and I would offer her another piece but closer. Again she would take it retreat to the living room and again the little head would come poking around the corner. Finally she was eating out of my hands and we were buds.

After returning form Ireland, my first wife's friend said she didn't want Casey. So she became mine and I changed her name slightly to KC. We were best of friends ever since.

She never took to strangers well. Ken and I were on her "A" list. It took 5 years for my mother to be able to pet her.

The first time I brought KC over to see Teena, KC took to her right away. KC enjoyed potatoes, something she did not get with me, and Teena always made sure there was extra cooked for her.

Teena and KC enjoyed very long walks together, sometimes 2 to 3 hours in length. Very quickly KC and Teena became best of friends. They were together 9 years. Teena's tribute is here.

We took KC to the park a week and a half ago for an hour and a half walk. She ran around like a little puppy, and was not stiff the next morning as we thought she might be. Saturday morning I took her over to CAMH for a leash free run. Again running around like a puppy

Sunday she had no energy. She went quickly downhill from there and, today, only 4 days after running around like a 6 month old pup, she is gone.

Thanks, KC, for always being such a good girl. Thanks, KC, for being a true friend. You always made me happy.

I will miss you!

Morgan's Day at the Vet

Last week we took our tabby, Morgan, to the vet for a checkup. He is in great health, but somewhat overweight. He is now on a diet.

His breath has been horrible lately and when the vet checked his teeth, she found some plaque and decay and decided that a couple of molars had to come out. I have gone through that myself so knew what Morgan is in for. So we booked an appointment for today to get it looked after.

Teena dropped the boy off at the Dundas West Animal Hospital this morning before leaving for Vancouver for the week. I picked him up at 6:30.

Everything went well. The teeth came out rather easy. Morgan is happy to be home now and has a little more energy than I expected, although I think he'll fall asleep soon. Been a big day for him.

The vet gave me a pair of gloves and a syringe of a codeine gel. I am to put .05 ml onto my gloved finger and apply it to the hairless part of his ear every 8-12 hours. I wonder about this gel as a little squirted out of the syringe when he showed me and he scrambled to get gloves and a Kleenex to wipe it up. He wouldn't have anything to do with touching this stuff with his bare finger.

So Morgan had a rough day but is happy to be home.

The syringe of codeine gel

Morgan somewhat content to be home