Happy Saturday All!

Lately I’ve been feeling that Norman’s Saturday posts should be renamed to Norman’s Rainbow Bridge day as there have been far to many deaths to our beloved pets. Today I am paying respect for a kitty that I have had the privilege of knowing for 14 years. This kitty’s name was Phoebe and she was the clinic cat at Harmony Pet Clinic where I work. I started work back in June of 2002 when the clinic first opened it’s doors. The kitty didn’t come when we opened our doors it came a bit later. We always knew we would have a clinic cat as most Veterinary Clinics end up with clinic cats. They usually are cats that no one wants to treat because of financial concerns or one that gets surrendered to the clinic for inappropriate urination, one the clinic keeps because they don’t think it’s fair that a cat has to have it’s life ended for something like that. Phoebe’s story is a little different. Clients of ours came in one day with a little kitty they just adopted from the Humane Society. They brought it in for a wellness check. They thought it was a young kitty as it only weighted like 4#. Upon examination it was found to not be such a young kitty but a cat that was most likely 5 years old that came with a heart murmur. Dr. Johansen discussed her findings with the client, talk to them about heart murmurs and how it may or may not be a problem for this cat. Without further workup to find out why there was a heart murmur there was no guarantee this cat would live a long healthy life. The clients decided that they didn’t want to take a chance on this kitty’s life being cut short so they surrendered her to the clinic. We named her Phoebe and she became Harmony’s clinic cat. She was an awesome clinic cat. She had a bed right up on the front counter so the clients could see her when they came in and when they left. She had free run of the reception area and waiting room. She walked around and got pets from all the clients. The clients loved her and she loved the attention. She lived a long life as the clinic cat. Each time the clients that gave her up came in they couldn’t believe how long she has been living. Phoebe developed a heart condition a year and a half ago. We were prepared that she wouldn’t make it through the holidays. She proved us wrong and lived another year. She was on heart medications and had a couple scares with not eating and with urinary infections but she always marched on. She truly had 9 lives. This last bought of not eating and urinary infection got the best of her. She gave it a good fight but in the end her little body couldn’t go no more. This past Monday we no longer had a clinic cat but her spirit goes on in the clinic. We all miss her and hope to have another cat very soon.

RIP Phoebe 1997-2016

Also this week my friend Brenda whom I used to work with at Harmony lost her beloved Dug The Pug to young. He was six years old and definitely died to soon. You have seen Dug before on my blog as I used to babysit him when Brenda went on her vacations. Gambler and Glory grew up with Dug as they were just a year younger than he was. Norman knew Dug as well. Norman and Gambler would take turns being Dugs humping buddy. Dug would go training with me when he visited as he would go to the pond with me when the gang went swimming. He wouldn’t go in unless I tossed him in which didn’t happen very often ;). Nellie disliked Dug and we had to be very careful that she didn’t shark him. Dug would look at Nellie when he entered our house and would automatically start screaming as he anticipated Nellie sharking him. He was his own kind of special that grew in the hearts of all. My brother even loved Dug. When we would have Sunday supper and Dug was visiting my brother would pick him up and let him sit on his lap. He was a cool little dog that will be missed dearly. Peace to his family who loss a family member way too soon.

RIP Dug 2010-2016