The Preppy Puppy and Kitties

I've not participated in Kelly's Korner "show us your life series" but when I saw this week's theme was pets I couldn't resist.  I loved doing this post as it was a quick trip down memory lane for me.  Sorry it's not as quick of a read for you.  I love my furry children so much it was hard not to gush.

So as not to offend anyone, the boys are presented in order of age. ;-)

Devin, aka Biggie Smalls, Muchkin, Dev-Dev, Devy and the Big D

Devin was the first pet I could call my own.  I grew up with dogs (cockers to be exact) but they were all family pets with an affinity for my mom.  A couple of years after college I decided to check off yet another milestone of being a 'real adult' and get a pet.  I lived alone in Richmond and traveled a lot for work and knew a dog would be out of the question.  And since Mother deprived my sister, Big Daddy and me of a feline friend (she hates them) I decided my first pet would be a cat.  I went to the Richmond SPCA with the intent of getting a little kitten but decided against that after I realized just how spunky eight week kittens are.  Plus as soon as I saw Devin across the cat room I knew he had to be mine.  He was four months old and the cutest animal I had ever seen.  One of the volunteers took him out of the crate and suggested I brush him.  As soon as I had him in my arms he started purring and I knew he had to be mine.  That was also the first and last time he let me brush him.

Devin has been with me through thick and thin and always knows how to cheer me up.  I am so glad Big Daddy got to meet Devin.  He loved cats and thought the world of Devy.  The week before Big Daddy died in 2000, I went home to visit him and brought Devin so I could sneak him in to the hospital to see Big Daddy.  They both loved the cuddle time but something spooked Devin and he jumped down from the bed.  I was frantic because after searching the floor Devin was nowhere in sight.  After 20 minutes Mother said I'd have to alert the nurses that I lost my cat.  In a hospital.  Yea, that would go over well.  As I was getting up to alert the masses I heard a tiny noise from under the empty bed in the room.  There was Devin.  On a little shelf under the bed.  I have never been so happy and yet so angry to see him.  I better stop telling Devin stories or I'll lose all of you.  If I haven't already. ;-)

Angus, aka Angy, Pooh-Bear, Gus and El Gato Negro

Oh, Angy.  He's my special little guy.  And I mean special in many ways.  He's a love bug (when he wants to be) but he also has maaannnny neurosises.  So we call him 'special'.  I got Angus as a present for then-boyfriend Dave in 2003.  We had moved in together a few months before and Dave had said a few times that it would be great to have another cat.  He grew up with cats and never had less than two at a time.  I started looking for a kitten in January but quickly found it wasn't 'kitten season'.  Whatever that is.  After just about giving up I saw an ad in the Post for a rescue organization in the area that was looking for a home for a four month old black cat.  I called right away and was soon in the car going to meet the little guy.  Angus was a VERY lucky foster kitty.  He was living with a family in Avanel, an exclusive neighborhood in the area.  The foster mom told me that Angus was scared of her other cats so she was keeping him in her master bathroom.  Holy bathroom, Batman.  Angus was living the lap of luxury not in a bathroom, but more of a bath suite.  It was made up of four separate rooms and was easily bigger than the 1,100 square foot condo I was about to take him home to.  Angy was very shy but after an hour he warmed up to me and off he went to our home in McLean.

Dave and Angus bonded right away.  Not so much for Devin and Angus.  It took many months before they warmed up to each other but they never became the best friends I'd hope they would be.  But I do catch them snuggling together from time to time. ;-)  Angus has had his unsolvable health problems through the years but we love him tons.  Even after having to medicate him with Prozac, paying Texas A&M $2,000 to do some special test on him and watching him go from a tiny kitty to a large cat back to a tiny cat and now to a HUGE cat.  He got really sick right before we moved from the condo to our house but after all the tests, none of the vets were able to reach a diagnosis.  He got better a few weeks after settling in to the house and in the last six months he's become my shadow, which is quite a change since he was always a daddy's boy.  Oh, Angy.  We love you.

Spencer, aka The Spencester, Spencey, Little Lamb, Monkey and Wiggles

When Dave and I were engaged we were out to dinner with several couple friends of ours, most of whom just got married.  One of my friends asked me what I was going to ask Dave for as my wedding gift.  I told the table that I'd always wanted a CKCS and I would love Dave forever if a Cavalier puppy with a red bow was on the doorstep.  Fast forward to about five weeks before our wedding.  Dave told me he would be gone much of Saturday because he was going to play two rounds of golf with a friend of his in Richmond.  I didn't think much of it because I had tons of wedding stuff to do and it would be nice to have him out of the way.  Fast forward to eight that night.  Dave and his friend called me from the street and said Dave hurt his back and could I come outside to get his clubs because he couldn't carry them.  As I walked up to the car I only saw his friend in the drivers seat. At that moment Dave opened the back door and was holding a Cavalier puppy with a bow around his neck.  I almost fainted!

That night changed my life forever.  Spencer opened up a whole new world for me.  Through him I have made new friends across the country through our clubs, met so many Cavalier people (who are the best dog parents!), was introduced to the world of dog accessories (I have a bit of an obsession with buying harnesses and leashes), learned so many things about Cavalier health concerns, and learned that I can never live without a Cavalier.  Thank you, Dave, for bringing Spencey and me together.