Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Here is hoping all the mothers in my life had a wonderful day.

Here are a few pictures of us with mom! I truly wish all three of my moms could have been here with us today.

Much love!

Mrs. B

New Videos

Just a quickie post as I have tons to do today and I'd best get to it!

I posted a few new videos of (primarily) Pete and Lily on You Tube. Lucy does make a cameo!

Mrs. B

Nap Time Today

Lily and Lucy on the couch together with my leg as a buffer. They both got up here on their own, I didn't put either in place. Whew.

Mrs. B

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Cats And Dogs And (Potential) Choices

Ever since I reported about Lucy attacking Lily and our conclusion that, if Lucy did it again we'd probably have to find her another home, I have to say I've been getting a little bit of flack from people; namely over WHY we'd get rid of LUCY and not the cats.

First off, let me say that it is probably not going to be an issue because, at least as far as we can tell since letting Lucy back into the house Sunday, all is going well. She's been on her best behavior and both of the cats are almost back to where they were with her before this happened (cuddling with her, rubbing up against her, giving kisses, climbing all over her, grooming her, etc.) I even saw Lily walk past Lucy last evening and give her a rub up; albeit, a quick one.

I've thought about the various reactions I've received and think they are definitely falling into either the cat camp or the dog camp. Remember that movie, "Cats and Dogs"? Well, if you've not seen it, you can chose, when watching the DVD, to be either on the cat's side or the dog's side, thus dictating for the course of the movie which animal is the evil one (I've watched both versions; it's really cute, you should rent it and watch it if you haven't done so already).

Anyway. From the cat lovers I've heard that we'll need to be extra vigilant and consider giving Lucy away if she does it again; after all, she's a lot bigger and she could kill them, intentionally or unintentionally, but, the result would be the same (then, of course, we'd have to give her away, anyway, because who could live with a pet that's killed another one of your pets?) Yes, very dramatic.

From the dog lovers, I've heard that it's possible Lily provoked Lucy (you know how sneaky cats can be; always trying to get the dog into trouble) and that why would we give Lucy away and not the cats? You've only had the cats five months and have had Lucy over two years. How is THAT fair?

Obviously, there are points to be made for either side.

But, for us, it comes down to this.

First of all, I'm pretty much 100% certain that what caused Lucy to attack Lily was my leaving that chewie in sight on the patio (believe me, I still feel awful about that). Lucy was obsessing about it and the fact she couldn't get it and couldn't possibly understand when Lily strolled over to the door that Lily couldn't get to it, either. Not that this made it okay for her to bite Lily.

Given how often I've seen the cats climbing on Lucy and such, I doubt even if Lily HAD swiped her with her claws, that Lucy would have reacted in that manner. Add to it the ONLY times we HAVE seen Lucy behave this way was over food or chewies, well, the argument that Lily INTENTIONALLY provoked her is weak.

Chances are that we'll not ever have this issue again because we will ensure Lucy is not put into a situation where she'll react this way (over food/chewies). We've taken my brother's recommendation and will, from now on, feed her outside (good weather) or in the sunroom with the door shut (bad weather). And, sorry to say for her, no more chewies. Ever.

However, if, even given these restrictions she DOES attack one of the cats again, then, chances are there would be a serious problem with Lucy and her temperament. I'd forever worry about them, her, and, God-forbid, what if she went further one day and attacked one of my nieces or nephews? Right now, there is absolutely no reason to believe she'd do that. But, if she attacked one of the cats for no reason, or, a swipe or a hiss; who is to say what she might do to a small child pulling on her eyes, tail, or stepping on her paw?

That, really, is the primary reason why we decided she'd have to go if she got out of line again. Cats or no cats, we'll always have children around. They come first.

And, obviously, what sort of life would she have, assuming we kept her but kept her outside or locked up in the sunroom all the time? SHE'D be better off (under those circumstances) with a family where she can be involved and loved; probably one with no other pets and no children. Maybe an older couple or a single guy or, who knows. It probably won't come to this, but, if it did, I'd want LUCY to be happy, too.

Finally, to address the question of why not get rid of Pete and Lily? It's simple. They've done nothing wrong. They have every bit as much of a right to be here as Lucy does. We love them, just as we love Lucy. Certainly, if something happened such that it would be BETTER for Pete and Lily to go to new homes, we'd have to think about it. But, again, the only reason we'd give Lucy to a new home (I say this rather than "get rid of her" or "give her away" to reinforce that we'd ensure she had a new HOME, and a good one at that) is if she attacked one of them again, which would led us to the conclusion that she needed to be in a home with no other pets and probably no children.

Ok, I'm rambling and maybe I'm feeling a tad defensive. Excuse me for that, please.

If you've been reading my Blog, you know how much Lucy and I have been through together, our ups and downs, and how much I love her. Believe me, we have her best interests at heart, too.

Mrs. B

My Nephew Zack

Zack posted this (and a bunch of others) on his Facebook page. For whatever reason, I really like this picture.

I think he resembles Prince Harry of England, what do y'all think?

Mrs. B

Lucy Under House Arrest

...for now, anyway!

Mrs. B

Insight: Part Two

Well, y'all have read my posts before about The Kid and how, at times, she can be a royal pain in the butt (getting worse, IMO, but that's probably due to her being almost 17 years old (gasp) more than anything else).

There have been times during the past few years when I've scratched my head in puzzlement over, not only her behavior, but, Mr. B's constant defense of her (with a few exceptions; he won't abide by her lying and he will call her on the carpet for that).

In addition to Mr. B and The Kid, I have, of course, routinely been involved in the throes of woe and angst my own parents have gone through WRT to my sisters.

Yeah, yeah; anyone can say (and some have), "Well, you don't understand because you're not a parent".

And, up to now, I thought this was pretty much true. I am NOT a parent and I DON'T understand.

But, after this recent incident with Lucy attacking Lily, I suppose I understand a bit more than I did before. Or, rather, I realized that I DO understand because I probably always did, deep down.

Ok, we're talking PETS here and not CHILDREN. But, they ARE my children, such as it goes. And, frankly, I felt all sorts of conflicting emotions (and still do) over what happened the other day. I'd imagine these emotions are not so very dissimilar to what parents of human children feel when there are issues/problems/drama with their kids. Here goes:

IT'S ALL MY FAULT! I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING!

What parent hasn't thought this from time to time? I know it's what was running through my head over and over and over again like a nasty version of the movie "Groundhog Day". WHY did I leave that chewie on the patio? I KNEW I should have moved it, why DIDN'T I? I'm an idiot. I'm a bad mother. I allowed Lucy to fail and put Lily in harm's way.

I'M SO MAD AT THAT KID I COULD KILL HER!

Ok, not literally, but, in my life (not very often thank God) I was, a time or two, on the receiving end of parental anger (likely very much deserved). I sure as hell felt mad enough to really sock it to Lucy the other day. Luckily, I had the sense to put her out in the yard instead. I mean, I could have stood there yelling at her until the cows came home and it wouldn't have made any difference to what had just happened (sound familiar to any of you parents out there?)

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! PLEASE LET HER BE OKAY! PLEASE LET HER BE OKAY!

This I was frantically thinking as I ran upstairs to check on Lily and then couldn't find her. Then, when I did find her and she seemed to be okay, I burst into tears.

EVERYONE MUST THINK I AM A TERRIBLE MOM

When I was at the vet and the story came out about what happened, I felt everyone there was thinking what a rotten, stinking mom I was. I don't think they really were, but, any parent that has had to take a child to the hospital or doctor because of some unfortunate accident can likely relate.

HER DAD IS GOING TO KILL HER WHEN HE GETS HOME

By the time Mr. B made it home Wednesday night (he had a Board meeting and it was almost 9:00), I'd calmed down somewhat, enough that I was starting to worry a bit about how Mr. B was going to deal with Lucy. I KNEW he was furious with her because this was the 3rd time this has happened and his tolerance is waning. I found myself telling Lucy through the screen door that, if she thought I'D laid into her, wait until her father got home! Of course, he didn't do anything to her at all but ignore her and tell me he thought she should stay outside several days.

I KNOW SHE DID A TERRIBLE THING BUT...I STILL LOVE HER

This, I suppose, was the biggest A HA that I had. No matter what, I still love her. She's my girl. Now, unlike a human child, we WILL have to find her another home if she doesn't come around because we have the cats' safety to think of (they, after all, have not done a thing wrong) BUT I still feel committed to Lucy and to doing everything I can to make her successful. Yes, she hurt my feelings, or, rather, really, really disappointed me. Yes, I'm a bit wary of her around the cats for now so this means she'll be spending more time outside until we can work through this. Yes, she's on borrowed time as far as Mr. B is concerned and I know I have to support him, too.

GAH! I should have got a fish!

Seriously, I believe after all is said and done, we'll get to a good place again with Lucy, Pete and Lily. It may take Lily quite a long time to forgive Lucy, but, we'll leave that up to Lily. I've had some excellent advice from several sources; thanks everyone! So, we're not the only ones who want Lucy to be successful. She's loved all the way around. Yes, others are also disappointed in her, but, willing to bet she'll do better from now on.

Most importantly, I've got even more respect for Mr. B and other parents who've had to deal with difficult/trying situations with their children.

My friend Luigi is fond of the saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears".

Thanks, Lucy.

(But you ass is still grass if you ever do this again!)

Mrs. B