Jessie's Golden Years

For those of you who have read the past blog about Jessie Mae, we have an update. Good news, no worries.

A little background....Jessie is our first rescue dog, hopefully not our last. She came to our home at age 8 and now is a robust 14. Yes, diet and exercise and love are all part and parcel of her success, but I strongly believe that Lake Michigan has an awful lot to do with it, too.

I decided, after being hospitalized in April that I wasn't going to hit the gym quite as hard as I have been-after all, some days I walk a good ten miles with my charges. Enough is enough. I decided to take my pups for a daily run along the beach and I get to do one of my favorite hobbies-collect sea glass. (What I'll do with my collection is beyond me, but its harmless, good clean fun) Jessie Mae, Jackson and Dixie run the beach, get wet and tuckered and are sometimes joined by friends Fritz the black lab or Wyatt the pit mix. Jessie runs with me. What amazes me about her is she actually RUNS..swims, chases sticks and has a happy smile on her face. For the brief time we are there, her aches and pains subside and she is a puppy again. Perhaps its the soft sand cushioning her pads and legs, which, unfortunately are taking a turn for the worse, but as long as she is able, I will be running the beach with her.

Getting older doesn't have to be a demise....it can get better and in Jessie's case, I believe it has. Because she is active and having fun, I'm happy to oblige. Plus, I get to find that red piece which I so covet!

Oh, what a great team

I realize its been ages since I posted. Followers, I promise not to disappoint in the future. Building a business is a full time and then some job, and I apologize.
So, let me introduce our esteemed team to you-Marlena Ewing-covering Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie and Northern Illinois.
Steven Bourelle, covering Kenosha and southern Racine county.
Mary Hartog, covering west of I-94
Melissa Cataldo-covering Milwaukee
Lee Ann Decker-covering Milwaukee
Genevieve Stark-covering Miliwaukee
Lori Mendelsohn Thomas-covering those who are covering and covering Kenosha area

Jackson Brown Makes His Debut with the Lake County Fielders!

Yesterday will be a day for the books of Wisconsin Pet Care. Our dog, Jackson Brown, also known as the Fielders Best Friend, caught the first pitch at Bark at The Park day! And the best thing is, he actually caught the ball! Fans cheered as he grabbed at the pitch and I couldn't have been more proud!

The day was filled with fun-I had volunteers help with collecting for the Safe Harbor Humane Society and Kindred Kitties, both in Kenosha. We simply went up to people, begged, pouted and guilted them into submission. Those of you in our area, not to worry, your turn at guilting will be coming shortly.

THERE IS GOOD IN THE WORLD...he was found!

He was missing for 9 days. Our cat was lost.

I followed all the advice from professionals-go door to door, ask neighbors if they have seen him, post LOST CAT REWARD signs, go to the shelters daily and see if he was found, and I even called our microchip company. The animal communicator told us that we needed to visualize him coming home where he usually entered, visualize his return. We did it all. The neighbors did the same. He was lost.

Last night around 9:45 I returned home from my last sit of the night and I got a call from my husband. Strange, I thought he was upstairs sleeping. What is my husband doing out-he needed to walk our pups. “Guess who’s in the car?” You can imagine, I didn’t even have any idea that my husband was gone, let alone try to play games. “Mr. Widget” he said. I started to scream-how, where, who? “I’ll fill you in when we get home.” Sweet, sweet music to my ears. Mr. Widget was coming home. I started doing my happy dance-my poodles joined in. Finally. I could breathe again.

Mr. Widget, who lives in Allendale was found at the home of Ron Suokko on 22^nd Ave and 23^rd Street. Huh? Four to five miles-how did that happen? Why did he wander so far? Was it done on paws, or did he sneak a ride with someone-did someone take him and drop him off-what? Ron told me this morning that Mr. Widget had spoken to him to take him in; to help him. I believe it, as our communicators told us to visualize it, and that they would send white light to guide him. Ron saw the light and responded.

Just to let every pet owner know, Mr. Widget wears four tags-his rabies, his ID tag, his microchip tag and his Help4Pets tag. He also has a microchip. All could have pointed him to us, but the importance of tagging any pet-indoor or outdoor is imperative to attempt to get a lost pet home. The rate of return, sadly, in cats is 2%. We were lucky, blessed, and clearly, the universe wanted him home.

Meeting a kind soul such as Ron, having Mr. Widget home again, and believing that anything can happen has once again restored my faith in the people of Kenosha. Ron-a huge hug for helping us.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

My heart breaks.

I have posted signs for you. I've gone to the shelter, daily, to look for you. I've offered rewards for you. I've received numerous phone calls of sightings for you. I've walked around the neighborhood, calling your name. I've cried for you, and boy, I've missed you.

And you are gone.

You haven't returned.

My heart breaks.

Dixie's heart breaks.

But I've seen you.

A low, light streak around the floor.

A shadow, showing me your spirit lives on.

An appearance under the dining table; your nesting spot.

Your smell. Still on the blanket where you slept.

My heart breaks.

From Mr. Widgets Perspective

I (notice I'm not using 'we") adopted a lovely friend from the SHHS this past February and found that as much as I loved her, realized that the situation wasn't ideal. Our male standard poodle thought of her as prey and spent a great deal of his day figuring out how to capture her. His behavior made it literally impossible to relax-for everyone involved. Because of this, and wanting to do the right thing, I released her from her solitude in the basement to a cool couple who bonded instantly with her.

I adopted her originally because she was so effervescently friendly and gorgeous. She wanted nothing more than to sit on your lap and be stroked, loved and adored. Jackson, our poodle, wanted nothing of this and made it known that under no certain circumstances would this be tolerated. He barked so loudly and endlessly that it was so tense around here that it could be cut with a knife.

So, I did what felt like the right thing and began looking, quietly, for a new home. One of my new customers told me that her daughter was looking and I called her, she came two days later with hubby in tow and Shazam-instant love. On both Karma's and the Clark's part.

But I forgot one small thing.

Mr. Widget.

Our resident cat who also took a shine to her and I enjoyed seeing the relationship grow from snarls to love and exuberant playtime. Even though she lived in our basement, she wasn't alone-she had the best company with her boyfriend Mr. Widget. They did a lot of things together, but Mr. Widget couldn't protect her from the big brown beast living upstairs.

Never for one second did I consider Mr. Widgets feelings. Here, he had a friend, the same species and the same habits, and had formed a bond with her. Selfishly, I had taken that friend away from him. Now I question if I did the right thing or not. For the overall energy in the family, yes, but today, I see Mr. Widget not being himself. Clearly, he is depressed. He's been sleeping all day and Mr. Widget is generally the first out and the last one in. Go figure.

Advice. Consider the entire family before acting. There are bonds we, as humans don't see, but when they are no longer there, they are as plain as day.

How Could I Have Done That?

As I laid awake this morning at 4 am, I was thinking about the animals under my charge, thinking about past animals and other things..... but I was also thinking about nutrition. Yeah. A funny subject at 4 am. But we all do things at the wee hours of the morning that we don't normally think about.

To change the subject a minute, I had the pleasure of spending 11 years with a gorgeous grey cat named Leo. The minute I saw him I was in love. Perhaps even more so than the former fiance who owned him. Leo was a gracious, tall, lanky domestic short hair with more canine qualities than feline. He used to greet guests at the door as well as go up to each dinner guest and beg for food. He could give a look that appeared that he was undernourished, rarely fed and down right pitiful. Perhaps, in his way, he was.

I grew up thinking that commercial diets such as Iams and Science Diet were "superior" and that I was doing the right thing by putting bowls of dry food out for Leo. I mean really, with a name like Science Diet, one thinks that chemical masterminds have concocted the worlds most nutritious food for our companion animals, don't we? I firmly believed, because my vet told me, that feeding Leo this food would guarantee a long, healthy life.

I failed miserably.

About two years before Leo's death, he started vomiting daily-a bile which the vet said was "normal for his age." She told me to feed him his daily diet of dry food and sometimes wet.

I failed miserably for my sweet Leo.

After years of research and asking a lot of questions from my NAPPS camraderie, I've come to find out that it would have been better for Leo if I had been feeding him off of my plate instead of the cardboard like nuggets that Science Diet was putting out. With the nutrition equal to styrofoam, Leo would have been better off with cans of tuna placed at his paws. Instead, I believed that he was eating a balanced meal.

Friends and others who are reading this. Do your Leo a favor. Cats survive in the wild on what they catch. They don't hunt corn stalks. They don't hunt sheathes of wheat. They hunt juicy, gorey, bloodly animals to get their protien and their water. By giving a cat kibble, aside from the premium brands which are freeze dried proteins and veggies, you are literally cutting your companion cats lives by a third aside from causing a whole tuna boat load of issues.

I have two companion cats now who will no more touch commercial kibble than I will ever have the pleasure of meeting Johnny Depp. While I'd love to one, day, unless he moves to Kenosha Wisconsin and has animals he needs taking care of, the chances are slim to none. The Deppster hopefully has the smarts to feed them fresh fish or sardines, on his income. I'll stick with Innova or Felidae.

I love my animals so much that I would place myself in front of a moving vehicle to save them. I hope you feel equally as strong about yours, and if you do, research what they are eating. The diatribe that the commercial food companies feed us untrue. The best diet for any animal is the diet that is closest to their natural prey diet-plenty of proteins, water and plants.

Feel free to comment if you disagree. I'm open for discussion.