Pets – Page 49

You Are The Everything

I’m very scared for this world,
I’m very scared for me.
R.E.M., “You Are The Everything”

Trixie was increasingly on edge in the month prior to the move. When the movers arrived the day before, we kept her in the bathroom with her brothers while they packed up our belongings and loaded them on the truck. The next morning as I loaded up the cars, she sat beside the glass door watching me come and go. I was afraid she was going to try to get outside but she never did, it was her way of trying to relieve the stress. Brother Sam came up and laid down beside her and, in the shadow of her hero, she was able to find some solace. Scout used to do this for Sam, so it was heartwarming to see him return the favor and even gain some comfort himself from his young sister.

The movers arrived yesterday to deliver our things to our rental house and it amused me to see this scene play out again in the evening, with Sam curling up with Trixie as she slept in my office.

Loved to the End

The movers had come the day before so the house was nearly empty but the wooden grate above the heating vent was loved to the very end.

The Unfamiliar

Today was my first day at the new job and while it went well, it was still a day where everything was unfamiliar and will be for a while. Even the simplest things like finding my desk again after going somewhere else was a daunting task and only accomplished after a few wrong turns. But it’s the kind of day, and will be the kind of week if not month, where you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other with the knowledge that in time this too will become familiar.

And that applies to everything right now, the new city, the new state, the new region, the new climate, the new house. At least I understand the reason for the change and can look forward to the opportunity it brings, the pets aren’t so fortunate. Not surprisingly our dog Ellie has adapted the quickest, although with the warmer weather she has not been interested in long walks. She is loving having us all on one floor for once again she can sleep in the same room as us and follow us wherever we go in the house.

The cats have done well all things considered but the stress is easy to see when you know them as we do. My wife picked up this short cat tree / cat bed and all three have used it, Sam is in it here but Trixie has claimed it the most. It is during these times where you take advantage of every bit of trust that you’ve built up over the years to give them comfort as you can. Soon enough even for the little ones the unfamiliar will become familiar.

Until then, patience, patience, patience.

Home

We are home even if it doesn’t yet feel like it. We arrived at our rental house in Arizona in the late afternoon, the pets are a little stressed but did well all things considered. Ellie has adapted the quickest, here resting on the tile near the backyard door. You can’t see it from this angle but there’s a big pool behind her and some citrus trees further back. A rabbit ran out of the bushes when we arrived and four Gambel’s quail sauntered through the backyard right after sunset, a nice welcome. Thankfully I have tomorrow to recuperate as I am wiped out, on Monday I start the new job.

Getting There

Today is the last day of our three day drive to Arizona, we should be in our rental house this evening. The pets have done far better than I expected but it’s clearly been stressful for them, particularly the cats. Both hotels have a 2 pet per room limit, so my wife and I have gotten separate rooms and split the pets, she’s had Ellie and Trixie while I’ve had Sam and Boo. The first night we stayed at the La Quinta in Reddng, CA, and enjoyed the hotel. Although the brothers fell asleep after the stress of a long car ride, Boo woke me up at 4 a.m. and kept mewing, so I tried to comfort him and keep him quiet. I’d get him settled when Sam started up and this continued for the next hour and a half. So I didn’t get the best night’s sleep but that was no fault of the hotel, and the next night we gave them a mild sedative in the evenings and I had a wonderful night’s sleep. The sedative has also kept their stress levels down during the car ride but still left them alert.

The Last Picture I Took in Portland

This is the last picture I took before leaving Portland, the three cats crated up, the last thing to be packed into the car. I love how Ellie snuck into the picture. I thought today was going to be more emotional than it was, leaving the house for the last time after 16 years, leaving Portland, leaving Oregon. Maybe it’s because the past month has been a slow-motion move, maybe it’s because I just want the move to be over with, maybe it’s because I’m more than ready to start my life anew in Arizona.

Goodbye House, I Love You

I’ve saved my last goodbye for the house that has been our home for sixteen years. Built in 1925, old homes have their charms and their challenges. This one has charmed me and it’s hard to say goodbye but it is time. The movers are packing our belongings and loading it onto the truck. Tomorrow we leave for Arizona.

It’s funny what you fall in love with, sometimes it’s the little things. I’ll always remember the wooden grate over the heating vent that attracted the cats like a watering hole in a dry savannah. Trixie loves it, as have many of our cats, including Boo who was already occupying it and wondering about his sister’s intentions as he gave her the side-eye on her approach.

The mover’s were surprised we aren’t taking the stained glass windows with us, which hang just inside of the real windows. They were here when we bought the house, home-made I would guess, but do a lovely job of providing privacy while letting in light.

These old houses have their challenges too. I won’t miss the tiny one car garage. You get used to contractors coming out to fix what seems like a simple problem and hearing them say “I’ve never seen this before”. We had an electrician out recently who based on my description of the problem thought it would be an easy fix, as it had been a long day and he was ready for home. Two hours later …

When I think of home I think of this house. I’ve never lived anywhere nearly as long as we’ve lived here. It will still be a home, just not ours. I hope it protects and delights its new owners as well it has us. Goodbye, I love you.

She Would Have Turned 17 Today

She was born to a feral cat under the house of a friend of my wife so Scout was one of the rare pets where we knew her exact birthday. She was perfection, this little one. Cancer stole her from us just over 5 years ago.

Goodbye Irving Park, I Love You

As our move to Arizona draws close, let me say goodbye to some of the things I’ve loved about our time in the Pacific Northwest, starting with Irving Park. When we moved to Portland 16 years ago, we only had cats so we never considered how close the house might be to a dog park. When we adopted Ellie in 2009 and trained her to go off-leash, it was a delight to discover a dog park was only a few blocks away. After not stepping foot in the park until then we’ve visited twice a day, every day, since. In the sun, in the fog, in the rain, in the snow. Not the ice, Ellie hates the ice.

These days Ellie keeps her evening walks short so we go up to Irving Park but not all the way to the dog park, but most mornings she wants to make it up the hill. More to meet the owners than the other dogs, both because she adores people and because she never misses an opportunity to try to convince someone to give her a treat. After that we head out into the neighborhood, occasionally she wants to go straight home but usually she’s up for a longer ramble, even at 14 years old.

The trees started blooming a couple of weeks ago so I took advantage of a sunny morning to get one last picture of Ellie at the park. A variety of trees ring the paths of the park, some giants from long ago whose lives were spared when the area was carved from the forest. A handful of years ago I deliberately traded a lot of my hiking on the weekends for long walks with Ellie when I realized our aging pup would still go on long walks if they were in the morning, and while I miss the hiking I wouldn’t trade my time with Ellie for it.

Thank you Irving Park for many great memories with this greatest of pups. Thank you to all who helped create and maintain the park over so many years. Goodbye, I love you.

📷: Sony A6500 | Sony-Zeiss 24mm f/1.8
🗓️: March 11, 2018

Category: Pets