One Year With Aurora

April 17th marked one year since Aurora came to live with us, and what a year it has been. Aurora looked so sad and lonely at Petsmart, and now she rules the roost!

I love white cats, and I always wanted a white princess cat. Aurora is not only a princess, she is an absolute diva. She loves cuddling and being held, she loves to play, and she especially loves Alan. When Alan gets home from work, Aurora marks her territory by rubbing up against his laptop bag and eagerly waits for his attention. When she gets it, she stretches out her neck and looks up into the air, happy as can be.

Aurora has a feisty streak and likes to pick on Piper here and there, but every once in awhile they will be sleeping just a couple feet from each other. I'm hoping that with time they become more friendly. Rhoda, on the other hand, loves Aurora and they especially love causing trouble together!

Having a deaf cat has been a learning experience. Aurora responds to hand signals well, which makes it easier. Since she loves to be outside and tries to escape, I have to keep a close watch on the doors. She does get outside time though, and even walks well on a leash. I'm also happy to report that she hasn't had any flare-ups with her luxating patellas (floating kneecaps) since the first time it happened!

Even though getting Aurora was totally unexpected, we are in love with her, and her vibrant personality shines a little more each day.

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Happy Birthday, Piper!

One year ago today, I was driving to work, hating my job, hating my life because of my job, and wanting another pet, preferably a dog. This was a time in my life where I cried every day on my drive to work, because I was teaching the class from hell where a student was sending me threatening e-mails and generally acting crazy.

On June 4th, I turned onto the road that meant work was only five minutes away, and was thinking about how I would never be so lucky to find a stray dog. During the beginning of my last class (not the one I hated), I looked out the window to my left and saw her: a teeny-tiny kitten sitting with her mama, a feral cat that had been frequenting the campus for years. Deep down, I knew it would not be right to leave her outside, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to nab her or if she would even be there when class ended. When I looked out the window again, I noticed her ear was gone, and in its place a bloody wounded mess. THEN I knew I was not leaving without her, even if I had to stay all day long.

After rushing her to the vet, I found out the kitten was indeed a little girl, and most likely about 6 weeks old. She only weighed one pound, one ounce, and was terrified. The first thing she did at our apartment was hide behind the washing machine. I held her and snuggled her as much as she would let me, just to make sure Piper knew she was safe and loved.

One year later, we have the world's greatest cat. She is cuddly, loves to play, sleeps with us, cleans the dogs, wrestles with the dogs, has the cutest trills in the world, and is generally just amazing. More importantly, Piper gave me something I will never be able to repay her for, that being a sense of usefulness during a time where I felt like giving up on everything. I just hope she breaks some sort of crazy record for being the oldest cat ever, because she is adored in this house. She is the Wembley of cats. That's like being the fanciest car of all cars (I seriously have no clue what the fanciest or best car is).

Piper's birthday presents:

Catnip bubbles
Giant life-sized rat toy (she is a crazy hunter...she loves it)
Dried anchovies
Two bags of treats- milk flavored and fishy beach mix
A squeaky mouse to hang from her cat tower
Play cube (all of the presents were in it)
Treat dispenser ball

Alan and I put the cube with all of the toys onto the bed and let Piper explore. She was purring and purring and purring, getting louder with each one. Her favorites are the beachy fish treats and the giant rat. Now, she's here on my lap, curled up into a ball, sleeping and purring some more. I think she is having a good birthday.

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Wembley Wednesday

Would Wednesday be devoted to anyone else? Of course not. Every day is Wembley day, if she had any say in it. That's definitely how it was when she was here. This leads me to my topic: fantasy dogs. I was reading a dog forum and this question was posed: "Is/are your current dog(s) your 'fantasy' dogs?" Since most people have a specific breed that they love, I found this an interesting question. Of course, right away I thought of Wembley. She was the perfect dog from puppyhood until her passing. Graceful, kind, beautiful, and obedient. Wembley was an angel, and she knew it too.

Wembley and I had a bond that is difficult to explain. In the past couple years during some major work stresses, all of my anger melted away when I got home and she ran down the stairs to greet me. Not being much of a kisser, sometimes she would be so happy I would actually be rewarded with some smooches. Because they were so rare, they were incredibly special. After a bad day, I loved nothing more than curling up on the couch with trashy television and Wembley by my side- more like in my lap. She loved to cuddle as much as I did.

Anyone who knew Wembley knew how special she was. She was a princess (oh, how I hate using past tense) who loved to be pampered, but not in that "diva" way that is often carried by little dogs, but a Glinda the Good Witch way.

Now back to fantasy dogs-of course Wembley was truly a dream, but so are our other dogs. I read through this thread and found many comments that said "No, my dog sheds too much", or "No, but I love them anyway", or "No, I hate everything about the way my dog looks, but I love his personality." To me, this was incredibly disappointing. I just can't look at their faces (and Alan agrees), and think, "This isn't my fantasy dog." They're just all different and all dream dogs in their own ways. After all, they picked US.

I'm just so happy Wembley picked us first.

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Inevitable

A first post is always so daunting. Where to begin? Is an introduction? Just start randomly? Because it is first, it is truly is an introduction. Chi Pack began growing eight years ago with the most beautiful golden retriever, ever (seriously!). Now it has reached five members, all with unique personalities and challenges.

We have met some resistance and judgment from others along the way, saying we are silly and stupid to have so many "pets." Anyone who has truly loved an animal knows they are not merely pets, they are family members to be loved and taken care of . They are not disposable, they are not a nuisance, they are not solely an expense. They are the only creatures who are capable of unconditional love. They provide love, entertainment, and comfort after a bad day or a bump in the road. We simply can't imagine our lives without them.

Although you can see our pack on the right side of the page, here is a little more about them to start:

Wembley- Our girl who started it all. Sadly, we lost her to cancer in January 2010.

Reagan- Our five-year-old golden retriever who was recently mistaken for being five months old. That is how hyper she is!

Quincy - An eight-month old border collie mix. She is not the brilliant mind one might expect from a border collie mix, but she is extremely quirky and incredibly sweet.

Walter - We have no idea how old Walter is, but we are guessing somewhere between eight and eleven. Our vet guessed ten. He has been with our family since February.

Piper - I found Piper at work when she was just a little kitten. Noticing her ear was cut off and all bloody, I lured her out of a pipe with a can of tuna (and the help of some co-workers).

Aurora - She is the latest addition to our family and was recently diagnosed with two luxating patellas, which is not very common in cats. She is also deaf. Aurora is three years old and has been a fantastic addition to our home. We just love her!

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