Bailey placed second in the mile with a good time of 4:51! It was fun to see her race and to see her run the mile again! We have seen her compete mostly in cross country at 4, 5, and 6K distances and on the track in the 3k and 5K so it was fun to see her run a shorter distance.
Parker and his friend, Tyler, did not oversleep (my greatest fear) and successfully showed up for the ACT on time. One test down, one SAT still to come!
(Parker supplies for ACT test-taking plus cash for food; Parker and Tyler snacks)
Parker, of course. stayed behind to take the ACT but he also stayed to care for our pets, primarily our geriatric black lab, Max. Max defies the tests of time! He is deaf and has arthritis, he is between 15 and 18 years old. He came to live with us when our neighbors could no longer keep him. At that time our vet thought he was three years old, that was about 14 years ago. We are told this is old for a lab.
All of our pets have lived extraordinarily long lives. Our cat, Abigail, lived to 18, with arthritis and near blindness. Even our hamsters have lived longer than expected! Bailey has told me that she always thinks this blog should be called Sound and Furry and she may be right. You would have to have lived with us these past years to fully understand why.
Bailey was thinking of our current menagerie of Max, the ancient lab; Cleo, the upstairs bunny and Jackson, the downstairs bunny but I was thinking of all the furry animals (and otherwise) who have shared our home over the years:
Dogs: Max and Zoe
Cats: Calvin, Carter and Abigail
Gerbils: Despereaux and Leonardo
Hamsters: Chester, George, Beethoven, Calvin, Albert and Gregory
Rabbits: Shakespeare, Cleo and Jackson
Others: a very sweet abandoned wild baby bunny hand-fed and later released into the wild as well as many other abandoned baby bunnies, many wild baby birds- later released, ants (ant farm), butterflies (from chrysalis), hundreds of praying mantis' (hatched), a frog (who did not survive), as well as lady bugs and the very temporary guests: fireflies (lightening bugs), snakes and garden spiders.
(Cleo in the snow)
Given all the mishaps, contortions, and intense care involved with a life with animals the blog title might better read: UNsound and Furry. I do know that I have never left my home without some sort of animal fur going along with me on clothing, purse, and especially on black pants even after using one of those sticky rollers to remove it! If there was ever a day that I successfully removed the fur from my person more would await me in my car! We like to think of dust bunnies as additional companions with whom we share our home. I do chase them with the vacuum cleaner but new ones emerge so quickly that it's best to make peace with them.
In the unsound department, I have fed a baby bird cat food with a toothpick every 2 hours and carried a baby bunny, eyes not yet opened in my purse to restaurants and track meets because she could not be left alone. We have driven the congested cat to the emergency vet clinic late at night, we lifted and supported Max constantly and for days when he suffered a bout of vertigo, and I sat with a dying hamster so he would not be alone.
I have loved almost every minute of our adventures with our animals though I must admit to having personality clashes with one of the dogs and one of the cats. And while I loved the little gerbils, one of them (Despereaux) covered his nose with his paws every time he saw me because I was the one who applied the anti-fungal nose medicine to his little nose when he was sick. His reaction, though understandable, hurt my feelings!
It is easy to see why Unsound and Furry should be the name of my blog and perhaps feature prominently on the About Me page!
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