Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2003. Mattie was 9 months old and he absolutely loved riding his "tot wheels." It gave him instant mobility, independence, and freedom. This happens to be one of my favorite photos of Mattie that Peter took, I think his smile was so captivating as he was staring right up at me. Our outdoor area was ideal for "tot wheel" time. Mattie would zoom up and down our commons area at lightning speed, honking his horn, and pushing all the lights, whistles, and other gadgets on this walker that made noise.
Quote of the day: A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not. ~ Ernest Hemingway
In August, my friend Linda lost her long time and precious cat, Ashley. When you share a special bond with an animal, it is always very hard to say good-bye and put them to sleep. When I visited Linda's home today, I got to see several of her wonderful Ashley tributes, from a lovely canvas photo of him to a special woven blanket with images of Ashley integrated into the fabric. All just beautiful and meaningful tributes to a special member of the family.
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In October, Linda went to the shelter and rescued Gigi. Gigi is lucky to have found a good home considering she has a medical condition which requires that she receive care and treatment each day. She is a beautiful cat, easy going, and loves attention. I sat next to her today and pet her head, neck, and back. I could have done this for hours and she didn't flinch. I certainly know if I had done this with my own cat, Patches, this would have been problematic. Either Patches would have gotten up and moved way or taken a paw to me to bat me away. Patches did not like to be touched for long. As I used to joke..... "she tolerated us!" Of course despite that, I loved Patches and came to appreciate all her quirky behaviors, but she was not what you would call an affectionate cat. As I was visiting Gigi today, a part of me was thinking.... how could I get Gigi into a hospital ward to visit my friend Mary Ann?! My good friend is in the hospital and LOVES cats! Mary Ann has always wanted a red tabby like Gigi in her life and I know a visit from Gigi would perk her up. But somehow cats are NOT welcomed in a hospital setting. Thankfully pet therapy has finally made its way into hospitals, but to my knowledge it is only with dogs! Probably because dogs are trainable and cats, well.............. they are harder to train! Yet a cat is an excellent companion and will stay on a patient's bed for hours, if you have the right cat!
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