Death in the Family

Toby, our beloved goldfish, passed away last night peacefully in his sleep.

There was no evidence of foul play and no previous history of alcohol or drug abuse. Toby had no medical records and we have no idea if there was a history of aquatic illness in the family.

There will be a private burial in our back garden tomorrow morning.

In lieu of flowers please send us cash.

Backstreet Boys

My brother, George, sent me this link. You won't want to miss it!

Unlikely Friends

Murphy and Bailey have become the best of friends, sort of. Bailey thinks they are best friends and Murphy exploit s this to his advantage.

Kylie, our previous cat, was a lovely little kitten when we got him which was just before Sebastian was born. A few months later we took a holiday back to the states to introduce Sebastian to our family. Kylie was sent to a battery. He never recovered. He turned into a mean and horrible cat. One day Sebastian was crawling across the floor and Kylie grapped his little face with his claws. Seb bled. And cried. Kylie would swipe at your legs when you walked up the stairs with his claws out just for fun. I would cry each time he got me.

When we moved to our new home we hoped Kylie would burn off some excess energy out in the fields surrounding our house. He was less mean but never very nice.

Then Kylie disappeared. The week between Christmas 2004 and New Years 2005 Kylie went missing. We hung up posters and walked for hours around the area near our home. He never returned.

In March we went to a rescue centre for abused and abandoned pets with the intention of finding a new cat. We looked at the first room of cats and whilst they were all cute and needed a home, none of them connected with me. Which is odd really because I'm not much of a cat person.

Then we entered the second room. I walked straight up to the first cage on my left. And there he was. I thought I was being a bit foolish so I walked around all the other cages in that room. But I returned to the first one. I asked if we could open the cage and they said yes.

Murphy walked right up to me and nuzzled into my arms. He had a scab on his nose. He had been abandoned in an apartment with 2 other cats and the scab was from either pushing up against a door trying to get out or from licking condensation off a window. Murphy never let my hand leave his body.

We took him home. And he has turned into the best pet. He is very cuddly and greets us every night with a sweet meow. When Abigail is ill he keeps vigil by sleeping in front of her door.

Then in late November 2006 we decided we wanted to add a dog to the family unit. Yes, yes, yes: what were we thinking? Labradors were typically identified as the best family dog so we found ourselves a yellow lab.

When we went to the breeders she only had 2 left. One was a boy and one was a girl; brother and sister. The sister was bigger than the brother and she was a bit of a bully. The brother never seemed to get his far share of toy playtime or food. The brother went home with us. I am such a sucker for the underdog.

The first night of Bailey's arrival in our home, Murphy sat on the sideboard in the kitchen with his nose up in the air, thoroughly amused at what had arrived. He watched this little ball of fluff clumsily slide around the kitchen floor. I am sure he thought he wouldn't last long.

The next night, Murphy returned to the spot and with much disdain discovered that the fluff was still among us and gave Marc & I a very dirty look as if to say "You've got to be kidding."

Then he ran away. Actually he moved in with the next door neighbour and her cat, Tizzy, for 2 days. Then he came home and thought well I better figure out how to make this work.

Ever since then, Bailey and Murphy have forged a friendship, natural enemies learning to live and love together. When Murphy comes in from outside, Bailey comes running up to him. Murphy allows Bailey to lick the top of his head and the sides of his face. Sometimes Murphy lets Bailey smell his bottom. That's what good friends do apparently. Bailey waits for Murphy to fill himself when eating his breakfast and dinner, then Bailey moves in to finish it off.

When Murphy gets tired of him, he simply moves to higher ground and looks down on Murphy as he slides around the kitchen floor. Old habits are hard to break!

The Rest of the Family

This is Murphy, our cat. He is a rescue cat we got from the RSPCA almost 2 years ago. He was about 8 months old when we got him so we reckon he's not quite 3. His previous owners had decided to move house without taking him and two other cats. They had left them behind in an empty flat with no food or water. No one knows how long they were left alone but Murphy had a rather scrapped up nose when we got him probably from trying to lick the condensation off the window. Murphy was a replacement cat for Kylie who went missing the week between Christmas and New Year. We're not quite sure what happened to him but I have some suspicions that these boys who often lurk in the fields around our house using their dogs to chase and kill rabbits might have harmed him. Although Kylie was a bit of an evil cat (eg he used to grab Seb's head claws out when he was a baby crawling around) I was devastated. When I saw Murphy in the the cage at the RSPCA, I fell in love instantly. Murphy is the sweetest of all cats. He's cuddly and talks to us and is ever so good with the children. He's never not once hissed, scratched, or clawed any children or furniture. He is even getting on really well with Bailey. Although, there is a bit of "what were you thinking" looks being shot our way.

Finally, this is Frank. We used to have Frank and Toby. In fact, we used to have quite a few goldfish. Seb was given a tank and a pair of goldfish for his 3rd birthday after being captivated by the tank at his Popa's house. What were we thinking? The first thing Seb did was pour his milk into the tank thinking if it was good for him it would be good for the fish. Sound reasoning. Bad result. We went through 5 sets of goldfish before Frank and Toby arrived and lived to tell the tale. They had lasted for over 2 years. But Toby bit the dust, or went swimming belly up, a few months back when we changed the water. Funny thing though when we went back to the tank to remove Toby, he was gone. Frank ate him. Strange explanation but the only one we can think of. Murphy has no access to the tank. And Toby was certainly in no shape to jump out of the tank. So in a way, Toby lives on.....in Frank.....literally!

Last night Marc took Murphy to a Puppy Party. OK, so now our pets have social schedules. The hope is that a properly socialised pet will be a calmer, less agressive dog. We have quite a few friends who have jumped off the cliff and acquired puppies over the last few months. I am thinking I should maybe host a puppy party in the local park. Have I lost my mind? There are children dying all over the world of disease, genocide, famine and I'm hosting a puppy party. I feel frivolous......and fortunate.