Today was kind of rainy here on Hilton Head Island which Sammy and I found pretty boring. What are you gonna do???? FIELD TRIP. We loaded up in the car and headed over to Bluffton to one of our favorite pet shops (All Four Paws) and had a great time shopping and trying out all of the squeekers. Sam makes friends wherever he goes, of course, and even paused for a pose with his new friend Roni who is one of the owners of the shop before continuing his evaluation of the best squeeker. The winner? The one that sings.

Meet Buddha (Boo), an Aussie and Roy, a miniature pinscher. The missing pooch in this photo is Chico….a min-pin like Roy, only a bit larger in size and cinnamon in color. There is never a dull moment when sitting for these guys, no way! I had the privilege to witness the infamous “min-pin showdown”, as described to me by “Mom” on many occasions. It went something like this: Roy comes tearing through the doggy door from outside, slides around the corner into the hallway and stops dead in his tracks….for at the other end of the hallway…waits Chico! They lock eyes, and begin the ever-so-slow crawl to the center, and the inevitable dual once they meet! Eyes narrowed, Chico picks up one paw at a time, moving in slo-mo, sets it down. Roy, making the same moves inches closer. But wait….Roy averts his eyes…he’s getting nervous…Chico is winning the stare-down! Who will pounce first?! This process goes on for what seems like an eternity, until at last, Chico jumps Roy, and they devour each other in what sounds like a flesh-tearing, blood-wrenching battle! Only then do I realize that they are devouring each other with kisses!

So I wonder, is this behavior unusual? They were almost stalking each other like I’ve often seen cats do! Is it breed-specific? Size, gender, geograpic location? Maybe we can just blame it on the altitude! Nonetheless, it was yet another entertaining Adventure in Pet Sitting!

Back hangin’ with my good friend Sammy. Sammy teaches me so much. He is sad to see his parents leave, but then he slips right into his old routine with Auntie Carol. Definitely teaches me the old lesson of “love the one you’re with.” We are having a blast. I finally sat down to do some work. He came to me after a bit and just sat and stared at me. Have you ever been stared-down by a Chihuahua? So I stopped what I was doing, took his bed and a cushion outside on this beautiful day and sat on the deck to listen to the ocean. He was right! We had been missing SO much. A huge leaf flew by. Then a gecko skittered by and we narrowly escaped being trampled. Sweet swirls of yellow pollen circled around us (followed by little tiny Chihuahua sneezes) and the sun warmed us gently. We could hear the waves rolling in as low tide approached and the gulls crying their hello. The Coast Guard even did a low fly-by to check in and we could hear and feel the “thump-thump-thump” of their rotors beating their greetings.
So if any of you are sitting indoors with a fine animal looking lovingly up at you reading right now…
Go out and see what they know you might be missing. It is too cool out there!!!!

Today we lost an important and beloved member of our Sit ‘n Stay family. Belle was our chief scout, always watching and always alert. We never had a squirrel in our offices, not once. Tonight she is running the Grand Mesa once again along side wild horses with boundless energy, as it should be. As a tribute to Belle, we pause to consider this wonderful description of “the journey” that we are fortunate enough to share. Good night, sweet Belle.

By Crystal Ward Kent
Copyright 1998, All Rights Reserved

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey — a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage.

If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life’s simple pleasures — jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joy of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower — except when heading home to the food dish — but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details — the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape; we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons brings ever-changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flicker and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life’s most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie — with a cat in hot pursuit — all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love — the steadfast, undying kind that says, “It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.” Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog’s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will not be just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be — the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a path you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet’s time on earth is far too short — especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during those brief years they are generous enough to give us all of their love — every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead — young and whole once more.

“Godspeed, good friend,” we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.

This is Bob. Bob sees nothing whatsoever amiss here. Bob is actually quite pleased with himself. Note the dirt on Bob’s tongue…
This is one happy dog.

 

We have all seen the pics of Sammy hitting the beach… Well it gets cold here in SC too. Sammy has made the transition to winter and still manages to look like a real dude in the process. It’s hard to hide cool.

This is my dear friend Angel. Angel is the perfect muse for the beautiful Fall colors up in Maine. Angel was rescued by fabulous parents, but after spending any time with this love, you know who really did the “rescuing…”