Saying Goodbye to Victor

Along with our two dogs and "Horsey" (it's our cat, can you tell my 3 year old named him?!) we have had a guinea pig. His name was Victor. Victor was not super friendly. He had a mate he lived with who passed away last July 4th. For over a year it has just been him. Victor's cage was in our spare room and every day Chase would feed him. Even though Victor was not out a lot and did not like human contact himself, we were always sure to visit with him and bring him all our vegetable scraps.

I went to go bring him his veggies on Monday night and found him dead. I paused and stood there for a second. I will be honest, Victor and I weren't real close. I adored Piper, our previous guinea pig, yet Victor was not social like she was. My first thought went to Chase. I needed to tell him and be honest with him. He knows things die. We have had several talks about death (Let's go back to June when I wrote: "Mama What Is That?") Here I was faced with the first time it would be a pet in our house that died and he was old enough to understand that he was dead. Besides the fish of coarse, he has gotten use to that cycle.

I walked into the kitchen and whispered to Jason that Victor was dead. I took a deep breath and said to Chase:

ME: "Come here, I need to talk to you about something. Your piggie died honey."

CHASE: "I want to see him." His voice was sad.

ME: "Okay buddy."

On our way to the spare room he he perks up for a moment,

CHASE: "We can get a new piggie?!"

ME: "No honey, we just have more love to give to our other animals now".

I will be honest, I was not going to miss cleaning the cage. I have no desire to have another guinea pig anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, I think they are great pets. Yet until Chase can actually clean the cage himself, I am all set. I also don't want Chase thinking pets or people are replaceable. I want him to know each one is special.

We walked into the room and he softly goes: "Poor Piggie". I explained to him that we would bury him the next night.

Last night we walked to the back of the house where there are trees and a wooded area. Chase and daddy both dug a hole together and we placed Victor in the hole. I explained to Chase we were giving him back to the earth. He said goodbye to him in his sweet little toddler voice and that was it. Victor was laid to rest.

It went easier than I thought it would. Phew! Yet it wasn't one of the dogs or his cat. I know those will be harder and I dread those days. I love seeing this compassionate side of him. He is a sensitive boy with a soft heart. We will talk about it I am sure. He still talks about our other cats that have passed on. He has a good memory, just like his mama.

RIP Victor. We will miss you. Even if you were a cranky piggie.

We got a "Horsey"

Animals have always been a part of my life. Since  I was a child we had pets. Kizzy was the cat I had growing up. She lived to be 19. I was away at my first year of college when she passed away on her own. Then there was Chops. She was the dog we had growing up. I have a very vivid memory of her as a puppy and that was when I was two. Chops lived to be 16! We had hamsters. I had mice.  Mom had a small bird at one point. I  even had rats when I was a teenager. One of them use to sit on  my shoulder when I did homework. Yes, I said rat. Don't under estimate this creature, they are actually great pets but their life span is very short.

When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian. You know, like every other child. I remember dressing up as a veterinarian for a school one day. As I grew up I hadn't intended to end up in the veterinary field. It actually happened by accident (I went to school for Social Services & psychology which comes in quite handy with working with people who own pets!)

It comes naturally then that I want animals to be a part of my family's life as they were a part of mine growing up. Chase, as he is so much like his mama, loves animals too. The last of my cats passed away last August so it has just been the two dogs and one grumpy guinea pig. Until Saturday. Saturday we got a "Horsey"

"Horsey" The Cat

Our local Humane Society  had an event this weekend called Maddie's Fund Adoption Day. We have been talking about getting another cat for a couple of months. We had a birthday party around the corner so I figured after the party we would go check it out. I wasn't going to go home with just any cat either, if we didn't find a fit, then it wasn't meant to be. Then we met "Horsey". We were actually in a room looking at another cat. He came out and came over to us and rubbed up on me & Chase and insisted on being pet. He picked us! He said, he guys, take me home!! So we did. As for the name, it was all Chase. In talking about getting a new cat a couple of weeks ago, I asked what he would name it, he said "Horsey". As we were waiting to fill out paperwork I asked him what he wanted to name him, it still remained "Horsey".

I have had people say to me (and they are lucky I didn't slap them) that children and animals don't belong together. I strongly disagree. Having animals teaches love, compassion, & responsibility.

So far "Horsey" is adapting well. Matter of fact he was just sitting with Chase because he chose to! He was meant to be here and a part of my son's life. I hope Chase will remember how we went and adopted this cat. How Chase helped save him and gave him a happy home.