Vito 2003 - 2012

“Last Night”

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep. 
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
“It’s me, I haven’t left you, I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here.” 

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea, 
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me. 
I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more. 

I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care. 
I want to re-assure you, that I’m not lying there. 
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key. 
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said ” it’s me.” 

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair. 
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there. 
It’s possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away.” 
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew…
In the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you. 

The day is over… I smile and watch you yawning 
and say “good-night, God bless, I’ll see you in the morning.” 
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide, 
I’ll rush across to greet you and we’ll stand, side by side. 
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see. 

Be patient, live your journey out…then come home to be with me.

~ Author unknown.

For the first time since adopting our cat 18 months ago, we needed to go out of town. We placed our two dogs in a crate-free kennel and flew away, leaving Waldo in the care of a pet sitter. I realized not long before we left that Waldo had not been left alone–with neither dogs nor people–for any longer than four hours since coming to us from the Virginia Beach SPCA.

My anthropomorphic tendencies went into overdrive. I feared he would think we had deserted him like his previous family had done and that he’d never see us again. I worried he wouldn’t eat or that he’d sit in the dining room window continuously crying, as he does when my husband takes the dogs out for their dinner time walk. (If I’m in another room and call to him, Waldo comes running and stays until they return.)

Despite being a cat with his typical high-level of independence–except at dinner time–I have applied to him not only human characteristics, but also those of a dog. We had lived with only dogs for so long, it just happened.  Thus, I presume a level of neediness akin to a dog rather than to a cat. (Although, we’ve never had a problem with the dogs wanting to drink out of the toilet, we do with this cat.)

Therefore, because Waldo sleeps in our bed at night, I wanted to have someone stay at the house to sleep with him, to lessen the trauma I just knew he would suffer by our being gone. I gratefully received my daily text messages from Judy, with her notes and pictures of Waldo doing his normal things. I was still concerned about him, but did feel better.

Once home, though, I learned Judy had needed to go hunting for Waldo in the middle of the night. He had retreated to his own bed in our closet and was sound asleep–all by himself.

I should have known better…

[This first appeared as the "Editor's Notes" in the February/March 2012 issue of Pet Tails.]

Oscar

When I enter the room to visit Oscar he immediately appears pleased, raising his crest and looking alert. He often reaches the front of his cage just as I arrive there and stretches his foot out through the bars to grab onto my extended finger. Once he’s perched on it, he then reaches with his other foot to grab onto my arm or wrist. He sits staring at me and unintelligibly (for the most part) answers my questions as we catch up on the time that has past since my previous visit. He clearly reminds me, though, that he’s a “pretty bird.” This greeting has lengthened over the last five years that I have cared for Oscar—a large white cockatoo.

Oscar is one of the first parrots I came to know. For many years we had parakeets in our home, but it has been the interaction with these large birds that has caused me to become fascinated with parrots. I am always happy when someone calls to ask me to care for one. Although these visits do tend to put a kink in my pet visit schedule—I linger a bit longer than I should with these feathered creatures.

I find them to be very intelligent and interactive. When I look into to their eyes as I talk, I believe they are paying attention to what I’m saying. I wonder if it is because of their ability to fly or because their physicality is so different than ours that makes them so interesting to watch and spend time with?

If we didn’t already have two dogs and a cat, I would pester my husband to allow me to have a parrot. And if I were I about 25 years younger; these birds require a lifetime of commitment. A cockatoo, such as Oscar, can live from 40 to 60 years (and the larger the bird, the longer they can live).

I suppose my visits to other people’s parrots will just have to get longer.