Heaven Has Another Angel

Bandit 11-1-1999/ 3-20-12  

I keep trying to come up with the right words. How do I put into words the life I shared for 12 years with a dog like Bandit? I can't. 

Bandit's breeder told me when he was still with the litter, that he would need to go to an obedience home. A home that not only knew aussies, but also one that was actively involved in obedience training. To put it mildly, he wasn't an easy dog. He had a lot of attitude and personality, and felt he had to be the center of attention everywhere he went, and he got it. That made him who he was. Everyone that met him, loved him. He never took life seriously. He just lived life, expecting everyday, every moment, was being created just for him. I can't remember a single day that he was not happy.

Most importantly, he was my very special Lit'l Man. He was my constant shadow. I couldn't even move an inch without him taking notice and being right there. He often knew what I was thinking, before I did. He would console me in my lowest moments. We had a connection, like we were one.

Bandit was a picture of health. perfect, in every way, then something went wrong. He never aged. He never slowed down. I knew when it was going to be his time to leave this earth, everything would just stop, he would stop, with no warning. Like he did everything else in his life, he would just be Bandit.

Five weeks ago, I felt his last breath, my first without him. I don't know how to be me, without him.  

He was my everything, I miss him so very much, my heart aches.

Rest in Peace My beautiful Lit'l Man.

 

Ice Skating

Here is the most recent video of my niece ice skating.
This is the Extemporaneous Improvisation Pre-Preliminary at Showcase 2009. She is 8 years old. The music for Extemp Improvisation is not revealed to the skaters until half an hour prior to competing. The skaters must then choreograph their own routine without assistance from anyone, including their coach.

She makes us so very proud.


If you want to view her other video's you can see them here.

Kitten in Your Couch

This is cute. It really made me smile this morning.

A New Beginning

Turtle passed away October 2006. The next couple of months I spent getting Mama comfortable with having Ashley and Delilah in the room with her. All the while mourning the loss of little Turtle. Mama quit playing. She clearly wasn't happy anymore. She hissed, growled and swatted at Ashley and Delilah anytime they would get close. They were good girls though and never hissed back, they just tried to keep their distance. Often times I would doubt myself, this wasn't going to work. They were all feral together outside and Mama was clearly the alpha even while outside, but she was inside for a year before I brought Ashley and Delilah in, so bringing them in was like bringing two strange cats in, and now without Turtle, she was on her own.

Months pass, things finally settle down and all three girls are getting along fine. I can finally relax, knowing it is all working out, but deep within my heart I still had the guilt, the ache of not having little Turtle, the room just wasn't the same.

In January 2007 a big orange tom started spending more time in my shelter. I first spotted him five years earlier roaming the neighborhood, often coming into the shelter for a bite to eat, and quickly leave. He never stayed around long enough to think about trapping him. He was very unpredictable. I wouldn't see him for weeks at a time, and when I did see him, it was never a set time. Many times he was seen wounded. One particular time his neck had a huge slash through it, at least a couple inches wide. Several people in my neighborhood referred to him as Oscar the Grouch, because of all the fighting.

First Video leading up to his rescue.

Oscar started sleeping in the shelter, more and more and only leave when I would approach. He never bothered my other ferals, he just wanted to sleep and be left alone. Unfortunate for him another Tom Cat in the neighborhood had other plans for Oscar. Fights between the two became constant. Everyday, this other Tom would hunt Oscar down. Many times Oscar would be sleeping in a kuddler minding his own business, and out of nowhere. the other tom would jump and attack him.

I struggled for two months to trap Oscar. I soon realized he wasn't a fighter. He really was a good boy, and just wanted a safe place to sleep; he didn't want to run anymore. Part of me was afraid to approach him, and attempt to pet him. Each day as I was outside sitting in the shelter talking to him, getting the courage to reach out to him and clean his wounds, I would often cry. Seeing the look in his eyes, what he had gone through, all the battle wounds. I was falling in love with this boy. I told myself no, I lost Turtle, and many others, I don't want my heart broke again.

The end of that 2 months, I was able to just scoop up Oscar ( he was no longer the grouch) and put him in a carrier. My friend who helps me with rescue took him for his neuter, vet check, and to recuperate at her house. When I first set out to trap him, I had all intentions on releasing him back outside. Instead, because he was so good and so sweet, my rescue friend was going to put him up for adoption for me.

Oscar recuperating after his neuter and bath at my rescue friends.

During the two months of struggling with taming, befriending, and trapping him, I had a very special friend that lives in another state that kept me going. I was silently falling apart. I just didn't want to rescue anymore. I didn't want to go through the pain of losing another one, possibly failing again. She kept encouraging me with Oscar. She supported everything I was doing with him, and gave me the courage everyday to do what I was doing. When I was told that my rescue friend was going to find another home for Oscar, I wouldn't have that. All I went through with him, I knew he had to come back home. He belonged with me. My good friend encouraged me and convinced me everything will be ok. I need to open my heart again. Losing Turtle was not my fault. So, with her encouragement; Oscar came home.

Oscar in his forever home, my cat room

That is where it began. I was lost for awhile, I did not rescue Oscar, he rescued me, or perhaps we rescued each other. He was sent here for a reason. At the time I was giving up, he came into my life. He also brought my good friend to me too, as I did not know her well until Oscar came around and she reached out to help, even miles away.

I still miss Turtle, and it took a long time for the guilt and the hurt to go away, perhaps the hurt is still there, but the guilt left.

Stay tuned, and you will all see what Oscar and Turtle have to do with a special little kitten.
To be continued.....

Ice Skating 12-7-08

Video of my niece's spotlight program at a competition on 12/7/2008. This is her dramatic program ISI level FS5. She is 7 years old in this video.
I love this one and the music is perfect.

Bailey The Unknown Reindeer

This is not my dog, but he is having a blast in the snow. Make sure you have your speakers on.

Ice Skating (Oct. 2008)

My niece's FS5 technical program competing at Aliso Viejo, California in October 2008

She just gets better and better. We are so very proud of her.

Ice Skating

My niece has only been skating since early 2007, and has been doing very well. She has many first and second place medals. She is 7 years old. Skating is her passion, something she really enjoys to do, she is a natural on the ice. My husband and I were able to watch her for the first time this past March and July. We had the best time, and so very proud of her. Yes, I am bragging. I have to say, watching her on these video's doesn't even compare to watching her skate in person. I hope you all enjoy them.

My Niece's Interpretive program from the ISI Open in Las Vegas July, 2008. For ISI's Interpretive, the skaters have no prior knowledge of the music to be played. The competition has all of the skaters hear a piece of music twice and then choreograph their own routine. All skaters are placed in a room and each skater is pulled out to perform having not heard the music again or having not seen the previous skaters' performance. This was my niece's first time competing in an Interpretive event.


My Niece's Artistic FS3 program from the Red, White and Blue ISI Open Competition in July, 2008. This program brings tears to my husbands and my eyes every time we watch it.


This is her Character Spotlight Freestyle 1 at the California State Games March, 2008. She doesn't do this one anymore, as she is past that level now, but one of my favorites.

The Road To Shamballa (Music by Three Dog Night)

I LOVE this video. I think it will always be one of my favorites. A very close friend shared it with me last year when I was going through a tough time. She told me when ever I felt sad to play it, it would help me smile. She was right. The lyrics are great, but the video really makes the song. I will never tire of watching this video or hearing the music.

Video Bar

I was just sitting here watching all the video's in my video bar, so I thought I should explain them a bit, for those that may be interested.

Those video's are all mine. The bar shows 4 video's, and periodically they change. I only have five video's on youtube at this time.

There are 3 separate video's of Oscar, one of my ferals. Oscar, Oscar 2, and Oscar's New World. I refer to Oscar as my Angel Boy. I believe he came into my life at a very important and needed time in my life. My husband and I had seen him roam my neighborhood for several years. Fighting with other unaltered tom cats, spraying the neighborhood, trying to let all the other toms know this was his territory. Many times I would see him sitting right outside my front window, covered in blood, open wounds on his neck, face, legs. He was a mess. He would come into my cat shelter I have in my back yard for all the ferals I tnr'd, to eat, then leave very quickly.

He was not very regular when he came around, so I never attempted to trap him. I was always under the impression he was a very mean tomcat. Then something changed.

January of 2007, he started staying in my shelter, sleeping in one of the cuddlers I had on their shelter houses. He would leave when he heard me coming, then eventually he started staying. We had another very mean tomcat come in and attack him quite often. Every day, every night, we would hear the awful, screaming, yowling cat fights. My husband and I would both go running outside with squirt bottles to break up the fights. When I originally named Oscar, his name was Oscar the grouch, soon I realized, he wasn't a grouch at all. He was a lover, not a fighter. He was tired of running, fighting. He just wanted a safe place to eat and sleep.

Over the next several weeks I worked really hard to trap him, he wasn't interested. So, the next step was to work on gaining his trust. I would often cry when I would see him bleeding from another fight. I was able to clean his wounds a bit, but couldn't pick him up. He soon realized I was protecting him, when the other cat would come around and start a fight, I would get the other cat to leave, and Oscar would look up at me and crawl back into his cuddler.

I never did trap Oscar, I realized all I had to do was pick the cuddler up while he was sleeping in it, and put the cuddler with him in a carrier. Couldn't get any easier then that. He loved his cuddler. His one safe place he found.

So the next few weeks, he stayed at my friends in her bathroom, recovering from his neuter, wounds, and then bathed. We introduced him to her foster cats, to see how he would be. All was good, then the day came. He came home. Yes, you all didn't think after all that work, I would let him live anywhere else did you? The truth is, I fell head over heals in love with this cat, he had to come back to me.

In a sense, he rescued me. At the time he came in my life, I was ready to give up rescuing feral cats. I had just lost one of my precious ferals, a pretty little torti, named Turtle. She and her mommy, Mama Cat, are the reason I have a cat room. Turtle died of complications from an Upper respiratory infection, after I brought 2 other ferals ( Ashley and Delilah), into the cat
room. I blamed myself, and told myself I would never bring another cat inside. I loved Turtle so very much, and miss her terribly. She was only 2 years old when she died. I didn't want to rescue anymore. I lost many ferals in the past, but not one I brought inside.

Oscar opened my heart again. He is a very special boy. He comes with a lot of scars. Part of his left eyelid is missing, his tongue is slit, his front leg had been fractured at one time. His pads are all calloused, and all his back nails are deformed. With all of those imperfections, he is the most perfect cat. When he looks into my eyes, I feel like I can see inside his soul. He has such a loving, wise way about him.

So, back to the video's, they tell his story, starting from outside, to recovering at my friends, then at home in my cat room. I hope you all enjoy them.

The other video shows many of the ferals in my colony in my back yard. Some are still there, some have been tamed and adopted, a few are now in my cat room, and others have passed on and waiting at Rainbow Bridge.

Then there is the Video of Benny, my Newfoundland. He passed away right before his 3rd birthday, so that video is in remembrance of him.