By Rosie Preston
I’ve often wondered how we ended up with three dogs and two cats in our home. It’s hard to believe how much work we put in to have it all run smoothly.
Preston Kat was here for a very long time. I did not realize how old he is until my sister Mary Beth recently asked about him. We remembered when we got him from the little church down the street, and I’m almost positive it was when my dad had passed away in 2008. We brought home two bobtail kittens that had black and white markings. My granddaughter Breanna named them after her cousins, Dakota and Preston.
It did not take us long to realize that while Preston Kat learned quickly to stay off the furniture and the very top of my cabinets, Dakota would not. I tried everything I could think, without success, until a friend said she would love to keep Dakota Kat. He was still a kitten at that point, and I was glad to find him a good home.
Much like me, Preston Kat has some age on him. But he does not look or act old. He still loves to play and moves around all day.
We have another cat named Mocha. Someone left her on our front porch one morning in a small box. She is very beautiful with some Siamese cat markings. She is very gentle and has the lowest “meow” of any cat I’ve owned. She and Preston love each other, and it’s not uncommon to find them cuddled up sleeping together. They also play fight, which at times turns into a real brawl when one of them really gets mad. It is usually Mocha that gets pinned down or knocked off the bed. One night they had a real cat fight on top of me while I was sleeping. It woke me and I had to get both of them to move off the bed.
We also own three rescued dogs. Layla is about 45 pounds with short white hair with several black and brown spots. We found her several years ago at the local humane society. Layla has been a good pet. When we had her only a few days, she dug a hole under our backyard fence and tore the hide off her left side while doing so. She looked like a deer who had been skinned. We could see all her inside organs, but there was hardly any blood. I nearly fainted when I saw her. I went into the house to tell Phil, and we immediately took her to a vet clinic. Her injuries were very expensive to repair, and she had to stay overnight. She came home with one of those protectors around her neck to keep her from licking her wounds.
Our second rescue dog had been left by its owners when they moved away. They did not want her, so they just left her there. We eventually found her very skinny and very hungry. She is a little black dog that weighs about seven pounds.
She is a real sweetie, and my five-year old granddaughter Briella adopted her to be her special pet. They are always together, with Briella many times wrapping the dog in a baby blanket and holding her like a mother would hold a baby.
Phillip and Breanna found our third rescue dog, Dexter, in the middle of the U.S. Highway 431 not far from Attalla. He weighs about 30 pounds and has curly hair and is the sweetest dog. He is house trained and loves his humans very much. He loves to sit with Phillip in his chair or on the floor beside his feet.
All three dogs are crate-trained, but Layla and Dexter cannot be out at the same time, because for some reason they fight one another. We wind up playing Doggie Day Care while we manage Layla and Dixie in the house in a crate. Friends have asked me why I would leave them in a crate all day, but we let them out at different times to play and pet them.
The other day I mentioned to Philip that it’s good that the animals make us get up and walk around while we move them around all day. We would not be able to get in that many steps if we did not have to care for our dogs.
Our pets are very lucky to have owners who love and care for them. Several times a week, I see dogs out running free, and it’s obvious that they’re lost and hungry. My heart breaks for them, but I’m in no position to pick them up or to bring them home.
When you think of owning a dog or a cat, always remember that the humane society always has plenty of them and is eager to find a good family to adopt them.
Keep smiling, Rosie
Contact Rosie Preston at rosie.preston@yahoo.com.