bevedog

We have had a few bad things happen lately. First our cat, Loki, died, and then we had someone trespass in our house.

Rest in peace Loki the cat

Shanon likes to say that we went to a dog show and came home with a cat. Back in 2012 when we’d had our first dog, Luna, for about a year, all four of us took Luna to a local event where there were a lot of vendors for dog products and services. There was also someone there with a few kittens for adoption, and Shanon fell for Loki on the spot.

Since that time, Shanon and Loki were pretty well inseparable. Especially after her cardiac arrest, Shanon has spent a lot of time at home, and Loki was always very content to be right by her side.

Shanon chose the name “Loki” because he seemed mischievous, and he could be. He quickly learned that we always had some paper piled up in some corner or other and that he could quickly get our attention by shredding that paper. But really, he was an incredibly laid back cat, the kind of cat that lets you hold him like a baby and scratch his belly. I joked that his name was “Low-key.”

I won’t go into all the details of Loki’s demise; he seemed like he was doing fine, then we were a little worried about him, then he was in the vet hospital. For a short time it seemed like the treatment in the hospital was helping and he was going to recover, but that wasn’t to be. His last night with us he perked up enough to hop up on the bed on his own and snuggle with Shanon while they slept, which feels like a gift. The next day we took him to his usual vet who did additional tests that showed things were worse than we’d known before, and that having him put to sleep was the only good option.

So we still have big old Rickert the dog taking up a lot of space, but both of us, especially Shanon, keep thinking we see Loki out of the corner of our eye, or find ourselves checking if he’s outside or curled up on the steps. We had 14 good years with him where he was happy and healthy and a wonderful companion.

Tresspasser

[I texted this story to a few of you already, so sorry for the repetition with only a few edits.]

This is the kind of story that starts with me saying “everything is OK.”

I came home for lunch on Friday and there was a young guy in a hoodie in our backyard. As I came in I thought it might be Luke, but it was some random guy in his 20s with the hood up, safety goggles or ski goggles around his head. Our back door was open and Rickert was sitting with him. Later, I figured out that he almost certainly came in a little side door we never use and I had probably left unlocked, thinking it was stuck closed.

I said “who the hell are you?” and he gave me a name and I said “what the fuck are you doing in my back yard?” He said “Somebody sent me” and I said “bullshit, get the fuck out.” He asked if I was going to be difficult, or something like that—he wasn’t that threatening, I think he just wanted to know if I was going to fight him or call 911. and I told him to just leave. He had some torn up mail in his pocket that he tried to give me and I yelled at him to leave.

At that point, I started to worry about Shanon, so I ran into the house and yelled for her. She didn’t answer, but once I remembered she had told me that she was going to go out shopping so I wasn’t too worried. I did check and saw her car was gone, so that was good.

By this time, our wonderful neighbor, Cheryl, had heard me and came out to ask what was wrong. The trespasser must have come through the gate between our house and the neighbors because he left it open and Rickert got out. Fortunately, when Rickert gets out he usually goes to Cheryl’s house, so she helped me get a leash on him.

I called Shanon and she came right home. She asked me to file a police report so I did that ,and they asked if I was sure no one else was in the house. This was a good question. I had briefly been upstairs when looking for Shanon, but I hadn’t checked every room. The police sent some officers to check the house while Shanon waited at Cheryl’s house. Everything in our house was OK, no other intruders, doesn’t look like anything was taken or broken.

And the lead officer responding to our call? Steve Lawson.

So I think that’s it. We are OK, Shanon is understandably a bit anxious about being home alone, and I’m mad at Rickert the dog who barks at everyone except for actual intruders.

Those are some of the bad things. I didn’t even get around to telling you about how Shanon got a vaccination and ended up with bad chronic arm pain! I hope in a week or so I’ll post about good things.