Mazie Becomes an Only Child and Then We Find the Shadow Cat

You might have noticed in reading back through previous blogs that we were pretty attached to our dog, Camille.  Okay - huge understatement.  We were crazily in love with our dog.  She was a huge part of our lives (mine for 14 years and Dave's for the last 3 years).

Camille told me last month that she was ready to go.  Her eyes just spoke to me that she was tired and anxious and no longer frightened to leave us.  She knew that we were safe and had made sure that we could take care of each other.  My heart broke when I realized that her time to leave had arrived.  My breath is absolutely stolen from my chest at the very realization that she is no longer here in her physical form.

It's taken me a month just to pull myself together enough to actually write the words:  Camille is gone.  We miss her so damn much!  There hasn't been an hour that has passed in which I haven't thought of my darling polka-dotted princess and yearned to have her with me again.  That dog was loved and it is my fondest hope that she knew how much she meant to us and always felt safe and cared for.  I tried to love her as best as my flawed human heart knew how. 

Dillon Beach, CA - Summer 2011

We spent her last week-end pampering her.  We took a drive to the coast.  She had one final romp on the beach, sniffing the sea and feeling the sand on her toes.  The beach was one of her favorite places - she was always happy to be there and had visiting them on every coast of the US - from Cape Cod to the Sonoma Coast.  I hope we gave her a great final adventure.  We had a hospice vet visit us at home on Sunday, January 26, 2014.  Camille passed away snuggled in my arms in her house with no fear and no pain.

In our fog of sadness, we tried hard to remember to keep our hearts open and poured all our love on Mazie.  Poor little girl just couldn't understand why sudenly her humans' faces leaked so much.  I don't think she really appreciated being used as a hanky, but hey - she's very easy to cuddle and sometimes a girl's nose and eyes run just when she needs cuddling the most.  Mazie was lonely too.  Okay - maybe that's just me transferring my feelings onto her.  I was desperately lonely for my pup-pup.

Camille and Mazie enjoy a snuggle - Christmas 2013

Mazie was pretty attached to Camille.  She thought her big sister was kinda smelly, but also loved to curl up under her ear and snuggle.  I think all three of us, human and cat wandered around the house in a daze for quite a few days trying to understand our loss.  Mazie was a great comfort.  Just having her warm little beanie baby body tucked under my chin as I sobbed for what seemed like days on end kept me attached to this world.






Sincer we're huge pet lovers, even before we knew Camille's time was here, Dave and I had talked about rescuing another animal.  About a year ago, we came very close to bringing a rescue beagle home to be a part of our family.  The pets in our life enrich us in so many ways.  We love having them around and we think we're pretty good pet parents.  We had begun, sometime around Thanksgiving, to feed a stray Manx that lived out in the parking lot of our community.  As the weather got colder and more harsh, we telked more and more about trying to catch her and help her find a forever home.

Camille passed in the middle of the hardest winter we here in Charlotte have seen in a long time.  We've had record cold and more snow than anyone recalls.  Even with our hearts broken, we knew we couldn't leave the Manx outside in the harsh elements.  She was very smart and personable - she'd come running for food when she heard me calling outside the front door.  I'd started calling her Bunny or Lupi, because Manx have funny little tail-less bunny butts and longer rear legs so their posture is sort of lapine.

About a week after Camille passed, we were able to borrow a Have a Heart trap to try and get the little bunny butt kitty inside.  We were semi-succesful on our first night.  We caught a kitty.  It was a GIANT black panther who showed no interest whatsoever in being friendly or living indoors.  We were able to safely turn him over to a shelter with their commitment that if he could not be calmed that they would neuter him and release him back into the neighborhood.  We've checked on him since and he's part of a large pet adoption initiative going on now in Charlotte - having calmed enough that the shelter thinks he will find a home.  PHEW!

Two nights later, we bunny butt was in our trap.  We've had her inside for about two weeks now.  She's a shadow cat.  She is not yet willing to trust the aliens who have abducted her, but she's calm and gentle.  There's no snarling or scratching... no painicked runs for the front door.  She's just observing and trying to decide about us.  The consensus was that we could not call her bunny and after some inquiry and input, our godson, Noah, came up with the name Morgan - a nice traditional Old English name for a very old breed from the Isle of Man.

Morgan the Bunny Butt Kitty - AKA Shadow Cat

Today we had her spayed and got her shots.  She's pretty doped up.  Hating the human abductors.  I'm sad sometimes because I know she's scared and we're the cause, but we're hoping she'll come around and decide to tolerate us.

Mazie needs a big sister.  Dave and I need another furry child to love and most of all, Morgan needs a safe and loving home.

Praying for a happy ending to a very sad winter.

And, just because I'm maudlin and can't help myself, here are some of our favorite pix of Camille over the years together.  What great adventures we shared my darling BumbleBee!