The Guardian

My beloved mother loved animals. Last August and September, I wrote a series of blogs about Packer following his passing. My mother passed away this summer, just shy of her 91st birthday. In her honor, I am repeating The Guardian.

Packer and my mother had a lot in common.  They depended on each other and were each other’s best friends and guardians.  He depended on her to get up every morning, open the back door, greet him in the garage and feed him. I know she looked forward to seeing him, and his presence gave her a reason to get up each day.  He depended on her in the evening to prepare his food and put it on the back step and to call for him in the backyard. My mother walks with the help of a walker and suffers with arthritis. Packer developed arthritis in later years and walked with a limp. My mother walks slowly, and I noticed Packer did the same over the years. He rested more, slept more and stayed in the garage more. In earlier years, he could run so fast across the field.  Likewise in younger years, my mother chased me around the farm!

My mother grows beautiful flowers in the summer and for several summers I have gone home in early June and helped her with the planting. Packer always left the garage and moved to the front yard along the walkway near where we worked. Mother said he always watched out for her whenever she was outside tending the flowers or coming and going in the car. In fact, the morning before I found Packer collapsed in the garage, my mother and I were admiring the flowers. Packer was in another part of the yard and saw us. I watched as he slowly made his way to us. He walked up to my side and looked up with those big brown eyes and waited for me to speak to him and rub his head. Then he walked over to my mother and waited for her to respond to him in kind.

 I also observed how intently his eyes followed her every movement whenever she went up and down the back steps. She has a routine to follow in order to get in and out of the house safely. After opening the back door, she walks out on a landing that is wide enough for her walker. She drops the walker to the concrete at the bottom of two steps. Then she hangs onto the railing and steps down until she reaches the walker.  It takes her a few minutes to accomplish this task. This is repeated in reverse when she enters the house. Sometimes, I felt that Packer’s guardian eyes kept her safe each and every time she went up and down the backdoor steps. I always told her, he was watching over her. She often said that she did not know what he would do if she fell.  I told her he would figure something out. She could be sure he would stay by her side until help came.

Mother always tooted the car horn three times for Packer’s benefit when she left and tooted three times when she came back up the hill. She always reminded me to toot when I drove. What an endearing gesture between them I thought!

With the help of my brother, Packer always gave mother greeting cards (with a dog on the front of course!) for major holidays and her birthday. Sometimes, there would even be some scratch off lottery tickets or cash tucked inside. Mother always joked she didn’t know where Packer shopped.

In 1999, my mother fell inside the house and broke a hip. I know one of the hardest parts of her recovery in the hospital and nursing home was being separated from her beloved dogs, Packer and Lucky. As she progressed with her rehabilitation, she was allowed to leave the nursing home for short drives, and my brother took her to the farm to see the dogs. I know they missed her as well. Many years later Lucky passed away with kidney failure. Packer grieved for the loss of his companion for months—waiting and watching for his beloved to come running up the hill or over the field.

Sometimes, Packer was a finicky eater. My mother had quite a collection of dog food for him. When I was home in June, we tried a different food called Cesar, and he absolutely devoured it and continued to enjoy it up to the last day he ate. When he lost his appetite, he would usually eat raw hamburger. He also loved cheeseburgers and French fries from McDonalds! He did not have them often, but we treated him to this menu on my last visit when he disappeared. I probably will never be able to think of McDonald’s without recalling the last day we brought the cheeseburger and French fries home to him. He had so much fun eating them.

Now I can only imagine what it is like for my 90-year-old mother to open the back door every morning and look out and not see her beloved Packer. Or to look out the kitchen window and not see him sleeping under the pussy willow tree.  Or to pull into the driveway and not toot for him out of habit. It must be heartbreaking. I pray that Packer Boy’s spiritual eyes are watching over my dear mother as she comes and goes, as she tends her flowers or as she gets the mail. May he be with her in every movement and keep her safe as he did for so many years. May the heartbreak and void in her life be filled instead with Packer’s loving spirit.

Postscript: August 30, 2009–I now understand why Packer Boy left first. I know he was on Rainbow Bridge waiting to greet my mother when her journey ended.

Bountiful Blessings!

Writer Going Green

How green is your office? Everywhere you turn these days there are articles about going green and saving the planet. One of the last meetings I attended as a Daughter of the American Revolution featured such a speaker. That got me to thinking about my home office and how I can do my part.

As a writer and professor, I am surrounded by books for reference and inspiration and paper for writing and printing. I go through reams of paper and boxes of print cartridges like there is no tomorrow! For years, my mother has kept a stack of scratch paper by her telephone. It consists of previously addressed envelopes, the backside of junk mail and the flip side of letters. She folds or cuts the large sheets into smaller ones. She uses this varied assortment of papers to write grocery lists, to leave family notes on the counter, and to take phone messages. There was a time when I thought why not use a pretty little note pad. In fact, I know I have given her several such gifts over the years. But I never saw them make it to the paper pile! Well, guess what I now have beside my computer—a little stack of assorted papers!! Yes, I have the cute cat note pads (that my mother has given me) and colored post-it notes. But my new habit is to be sure to use the back side of the fancy paper as well as the scrap paper.

As for printing, I have discovered that most of my printing is done for internal purposes. So I conserve paper and print on two sides. Only when both sides have been used do I discard the paper. I have been saving my print cartridges and will take them to Office Depot for recycling. I have a bag of fifteen color and black cartridges accumulated. I also avoid printing in color unless it is for an external document. I also just stop and ask myself, do I really need a copy of this, or can I read it on the screen or email it to myself to store electronically?

When I renovated my office last year, I insulated the walls and ceiling in a home that was built in 1956. My light spilling windows provide lots of natural light and tropical breezes. I have lined curtains to conserve energy. The joke in the neighborhood is that I am the last person in North Palm Beach to turn on the air conditioning. In fact I play a game with myself to see if I can make it one more week, than another and oh let’s just wait until July 1. Some summers I do make it! A pedestal fan cools me just fine. When I need artificial lighting, I have lights on a dimmer switch. I have two desks in my office equipped with lamps for task lighting. I power off the computer when not in use—I admit that has taken some work to break the habit of leaving it continually on.

As for books, I buy them everywhere. I love it when I can purchase books at garage sales, thrift stores and Goodwill. I always check the inside to see if it is autographed and check for scraps of paper hidden in the book that gives me clues about the person who used to have it. And when I tire of a book or it has served its purpose for me, I always return it to the universe by taking it to a local cat thrift store!

Bountiful Blessings!

Pet Only Airline

Pet Airways of Delray Beach, Florida, recently launched the first pet-only airline with flights taking off on July 14, 2009. Their mission is to make pet travel experience more comfortable and enjoyable for both ”pawsengers” and their human families.

According to Dan Wiesel, President/CEO of Pet Airways, “Currently, most pets traveling by air are transported in the cargo hold and are handled as baggage. The experience is frightening to the pets, and can cause severe emotional and physical harm, even death. This is not what most pet owners want to subject their pets to, but they have had no other choice, until now.”

The pets will be under the care of trained Pet Attendants and fly in the main cabin that is fully-lit and climate-controlled. They will be boarded and de-boarded from planes as quickly as possible and never left in the cold or heat. Depending on transit time, toilet facilities, food and water will offered during stops.

Owners can book pet travel on the web and track their pet’s travel progress. Initially Pet Airways will serve New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. They plan to expand nationwide with easily accessible pet check-on lounges to serve its pawsengers.

A study by the San Francisco SPCA, found that of the two million animals transported in the cargo holds of commercial airliners per year, approximately 5,000 are injured in transit. According to the Animal, Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), “virtually every major airline has been cited and fined for repeatedly mishandling animals.” As a result of a lack of oxygen and temperature control in the cargo holds, the most common causes of death are suffocation and heat prostration.

When we don’t want to leave our pet in a kennel or with a sitter, Pet Airways offers us an alternative to traveling with our pets. For further information including rates, My Paws Club and pet newsletter go to www.petairways.com/

What do you think of this idea?

Bountiful Blessings!

Fly Southwest with Pets

For the pet-LUVing travelers, Southwest Airlines began allowing passengers to travel with pets on board with them in the cabin on June 17. The Pet Fare is $75 each way per pet carrier. No more than two of the same species of small cats or dogs are allowed per pet carrier.

Customers may bring a soft or hard-sided pet carrier that is leak proof and well ventilated. The pet carrier must be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you and be stowed in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The animal must be able to stand up and turn around in the carrier with ease and must also stay in the carrier during the flight. No animals will be placed in the cargo bin. The pet carrier counts as your carryon luggage.

You can grab your bag and go as no health certificate is required for your pet. But be sure to make an advance reservation for your pet as the number of animals allowed on board is restricted.

I recently flew Southwest, but did not see any animals taken aboard. Let me know if you or someone you know has taken their pet on Southwest this summer.  

Bountiful Blessings!

Car Travel with Your Pet

Summer time and traveling with your pet by car can spell disaster without proper planning. These tips will make it easier for you and your cat during the car trip.

First, the cat should be confined in a plastic or wire pet carrier while in the car. A cardboard carrier can be chewed through quickly, so invest in a proper carrier for the long trip. Sometimes, you feel guilty about the cat being in a carrier for 8-12 hours until the destination is reached. But I don’t advise letting the cat out in the car as the cat will crawl under the seat or the foot pedals. The cat may get its head caught in a window trying to escape. Actually, the cat will feel safer and be safer in a small crate.

About 30 years ago, I was traveling in a car with my cat, Noelle, on my lap in the passenger seat. I had taken her out of the carrier because she was meowing loudly. But once in my lap she really did not want to be held for long, and she suddenly sprang from my lap, jumping across the driver and heading to a partially opened window. Due to the quick response of my companion, Noelle was saved from landing in the midst of three lanes of traffic.

Secondly, I recommend placing the carrier on a seat next to you if possible. You may need to level a slanted seat to make the cat more comfortable. I avoid putting the cat on the floor because car noises are scary, and I turn the radio down low.  The air conditioning vents are positioned so the cat gets cooled, but not blasted with cold air.

Thirdly, I always travel with my cat’s food and water. Don’t depend on your cat eating your sister’s cat food or drinking her water for convenience. If you can create a familiar situation, the cat will be less bewildered. Your plan should include feeding your cat at the end rather than the beginning of the journey. You also need litter, a pan, a scoop and disposal bags.  Cats are temperamental about their litter and even if you are visiting a house with cats, bring your cat’s litter.

Finally, I emphasize to never leave your cat in an unattended car—especially in the summer. A cat can overheat quickly often resulting in death.  Finding a drive-through restaurant or packing your lunch will remove the temptation to stop at a sit-down restaurant—even if just for a short time.

Do you have a tip for traveling with your cat by car?

Bountiful Blessings!