Thursday, January 17, 2008

Meet the furbabies.....

Just a little follow up to Chance, the cat we lost on the drive to Alaska from Oklahoma. Since I now have a scanner, I can actually go back and scan those oh-so-wonderful-circa-1997 scrapbook pages.


We lost Chance on the final leg of our journey from Oklahoma to Alaska. In the morning we would let the car warm up. It was -30 to -40 degrees by this time. We would pack the car, let it warm up, then we would go have breakfast. Even though we had it on 'kid lock', Chance stood on the controls on the driver's side. He rolled the window down and jumped out. We looked for a long time, but had to get on the road because Husband had to sign in at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. There were ravens the size of small chickens flying around everywhere. We saw Artic Fox darting through the woods. So we really thought we would never see him again.


Six days later, on Thanksgiving night, the owners of the hotel called. They had found Chance. We drove six and a half hours back to Beaver Creek to get him. We had lunch (I remember it was a cream based soup in a bread bowl....this was the first time I had ever seen soup served in a bread bowl!) Then we drove the six and a half hours back to Fort Wainwright. His nose and ears were a tad frost bitten. But he was alive and very skinny. He survived a week in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory. He would not leave Husband's side for a very long time after that.

He was always more like a dog than a cat anyway. He would come to the garage door when he heard the garage door go up. He loved a good piece of fresh spinach! If he heard you opening a bag of salad, he would come running from wherever he was in the house. He would stand at your feet more howling than meowing. If you didn't throw down a piece quick enough, he would start to paw your leg.

We kept for six years after this. Two moves after Alaska, we were going to the East bay of San Francisco. We could only take one pet, so we found a home for him. (We took Josie.) He now lives with a young Lieutenant. It was her first time to be away from home. She needed a pet that was a little older. It worked out the best for both worlds!

Josie is a French Bulldog. Some confuse her for a pig....a little neighbor boy in OK put it best: "She snorts like a pig, she looks like a pig," She must be a pig......but no, she is our little Frenchie. We got her when we were dating. She is our first little baby girl!

One of the few negative things about a French Bulldog, or any snub nosed dog for that matter....is the gas. She can pass some gas or fluff or toots, or whatever you want to call it. But it will make your toes curl. I swear when she is lounging here in the living room while I am kicked back with the laptop, she looks ever so cute snoring over in the corner. Then some smell like no other wafts over in your direction. Dang, makes a girl keep a can of Febreeze air effects near by!!

Happy Thursday, y'all

15 comments:

Cynthia said...

That's quite a cat story...Glad kitty has a good home. Poor puppy (Josie) looks like a pig:( Cute though!

Anonymous said...

Wow...what a story!

IamDerby said...

What a great story .... how hard to have to give your cat away... but great that he found a good home.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

What a cool story -- except for the giving the poor kitty away. What's with the one pet rule? Cruel, I say. Cruel.

Libby said...

Wow, talk about the nine-lives of a cat! Chance sure has a great story, I hope he tells it every time he's out with the guys. ;)

Josie looks just about as sweet as can be, I can't believe she's capable of what you say she's capable of!

Have a great weekend, Tommie.

Wendy aka Cheeky said...

Oh what a sweet kitty (and poochie too).

I can't imagine giving up one of my fur babies but I am glad Chance has a good home. Do you ever get post cards from him?

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Cute story. I think the cat acts like a dog and the dog acts like a man (with the gas). I wonder if your dog wagged his tail for hours when your hubby returned!

Don Mills Diva said...

That Chance is a survivor - great story!

Monogram Queen said...

That is a very heartwarming story! Josie does look like a cute little white pig!

a2zhanna said...

Are you scrapping on the computer now?

Janet said...

What a sweet cat! I'm glad Chance was found and that he has a good home :-)

Anonymous said...

Crazy story! I am glad kitty was ok and not dinner for some fox!

Kellan said...

I love that cat story - WOW. cute pictures of adorable pets!! And, thanks for the toothpaste hint - I'm going to do that - that boy, I don't know what I am going to do with him. Have a good weekend Tommie - see you soon. Kellan

Laski said...

What a cool cat (and ultimately dog) story! Oh, and what doll of a doggy. Ha ha, Fabreeze!!! My Boxer was a lot like that . . . then again, it could have been my little brother--he blamed everything on the dog.

Unknown said...

That is an amazing kitty story!

I think Josie is the cutest pig dog I've ever seen. :)