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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Saturday, September 13, 2008 - 4:19 pm
NO. He does not and says he won't---unless I get sick or something and then only if they're MY customers, not Fetch's. (That "menagerie" client is Fetch's.) Knock on wood, I haven't been sick. (Something actually is brewing inside me right now, but I keep popping Tylenol or baby aspirin and have held it at bay . . . I think. Just a sore throat that isn't quite sore yet and a bit of a runny nose.) The hours were to be noon, 4 and 8. The owner called this morning and changed them to 1, 4:30 and (still) 8. When I arrived, I decided to simply stay on through the 4:30, to cut down my driving time/gas costs. It became really quiet about 2:45. Everyone was sleeping! So I took a chance and laid down next to Buddy for some rest myself at 3:15--and got a solid 45-minute nap! I woke up at 4, and Buddy awoke at 4:10. Five minutes later, the pups (in their cages in the basement) began barking. Their tummies told them it was time for the next meal! The 2 sets of tasks for the 1 and 4:30 timeframes went beautifully, btw. The tough one is tonight, with the injections of 2 cats, both of which are pretty shy and haven't had a chance to get to know me yet. (The owner did one set of injections in the morning, so I didn't have to do that round when I arrived.) The day has been very easy, actually, as they have a big backyard and changed the directions to just let them play in the backyard (once before eating and once after eating--that's 4 times because Buddy has to go out alone). So that was easy. The couple also feeds birds in their backyard, and a pigeon was caught in the light wire fencing they had in the backyard to keep the dogs out of the birdfeeder area. I had to bend the wire fencing to let it escape--in the meantime, the 2 pups were all over the spot, anxious to eat it! (I should have put them in the basement while I did that, but I did manage to get the bird out without chunks missing from it.) Rusty, the cat with one kidney, took his pills really well; I was shocked! So things have been pretty good so far! Going back to the house in about 5 minutes. (Came home to get dinner.) Later!
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 1:36 am
Finally got the pictures developed from the family with the 2 dogs, 1 cat and 1 bearded dragon. Here are photos of this memorable crew:
Mighty Spyro, a 2 1/2 year-old Bearded Dragon that belongs to the family's 9-year old boy. Actually, despite my worries, Spyro was quite the gentleman. Never went after me when I changed his water or left him his bowl full of (gross!) live meal worms.
Sylvia, the orange tabby cat, finally eating her dinner. She liked love more than food every day of the week. Sylvia was born without a tail and, though it's hard to tell here, she is a very tiny thing. And always crawling in your lap for lovin'!
This is Ajax, the family's 18-week old, 50-pound German Shepherd. A puppy he was, for sure--constantly getting into something, let me tell you. He ate like there was no tomorrow for the first few days, then calmed down a bit. He was very sweet but definitely needed my full attention. He liked to chase Sylvia, and I was able to get him to come away from her on the first call of his name--after working with him for a full afternoon one day. (I used a clicker and plenty of little treats.)
Lacey is the family's 4-year-old, 40-pound Border Collie/Shepherd Mix. She loved having her tummy rubbed and seemed so timid--until Ajax's antics had finally worked her last nerve. Then with just one bark or growl, she let him know the score. Have to say, he minded her when she got to that point!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 6:36 am
Thank Herkie, for those wonderful update pix on your fuzzybottom clients. I am officially IN LOVE with Sylvia the cuddle-kitty!
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 6:43 am
HP you need to get a digital camera with all your earnings!!! Glad to read these stories and see all the pix!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 7:16 am
ITA JB or... get a cellphone with a digital camera in it. I love mine, and I don't have to shrink those pix to fit here at the clubhouse (I do have to shrink the digital camera pix.)
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 8:22 am
I've been waiting for the picture of Spyro ... he's beautiful & I'm glad he was a gentleman for you HP. We had a lizard and I'd love another. 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Friday, September 19, 2008 - 11:37 am
Yay new pics!!! I live for new pics of the new clients.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, September 26, 2008 - 2:55 pm
Just SOME of the pets in the family with 11 cats and 3 dogs:
Buddy, the dog born with deformed kneecaps--who was found in a field starving, flea-infested and unable to walk. This family took him in and has cared for him for the last 15 years. They've had his knees operated on several times. He can walk now, but very stiffly. He is easily tipped over by the two pups they also own now. So they go out separately, even though he is dying to play with them. He also has thyroid and asthma problems. He gets an inhaler treatment and special pills every day. Despite the sober look, he is an absolute loving, dollbaby!
Fuzzy peering at me from a safe place. Fuzzy is revered by all the other cats. No wonder; he is a big guy and a dominating figure of a cat! Not sure if he is fat or just all hair! (They didn't know his weight.) I'll try to get a closer shot next time I sit for them.
Rusty, the cat with one kidney who gets a form of dialysis every other day as well as pills and special food every single day.
Lilly, a shy one, saying, "ACK! What are you doing here?"
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 9:09 pm
I made these recently. Turn on your volume! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do: An Ode to my Hercky: http://tinyurl.com/4wfsyp (LONG!) Autumn greetings to one of my clients (owner of my favorite doggies, Sebastian and Stella): http://tinyurl.com/4m3f81 (Shorter) Thank you note to another one of my clients (owner of Kaya and Keelie): http://tinyurl.com/4pvlqu (Shortest!)
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 9:46 pm
HP Those are REALLY cool! Truly thoughtful towards your clients. You are soooooooo talented. Fabulous stuff. 
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Sunday, September 28, 2008 - 10:54 am
Seems like the love went equally both ways, your Hercky had a wonderful life with your family. So odd to me how it affected me, and I'm not really even a dog person! Herck and Bonza were both really special pets to all of us here. Your clients must have been really surprised that you went to the lengths you did you say thank you!

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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 7:46 pm
MB and Huk, you are so good to me! Thank you for the lovely, lovely words. Btw, you are giving me far too much credit. Smilebox provides the formats (a skillion of them--and you can also create your own). All I did was upload the pix I wanted and choose a format. So it takes no talent. Smilebox also allows you to use their suggested music choices (generally 3 choices) or ANY music you want (you can add your saved files)! Which is very cool. So even a lazy and untalented fool like me can look "with it" and smart to my customers!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 7:58 pm
lol ... HP ... it really is a lovely gesture, even if it is easy as you say, to go that far for your clients. I know they must appreciate your personal touch! 
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 8:25 pm
New clients! A young couple who took a honeymoon cruise left me with their 3 cats for 6 days. (One half-hour visit per day. Of course, I stayed much longer than a half hour. I always do if I have time in my schedule. I made it a point to see them last so I could spend as much time as I thought they needed.)
This is Jake, a 4-year-old, 20-pound, male Siamese Mix. He and I became best friends! I absolutely ADORE this cat. Never said that about a cat before. He had me on the floor laughing at his antics while chasing a laser beam. And I think he got so lonesome and desperate for love that yes, he even liked me. He accepted kisses on his head and cheek, loved being brushed (actually "held the brush with his two front paws and aimed it where he wanted it) and played with every toy I picked up to keep him happy. He let me pet and pet and pet him, too! I was in cat heaven for the first time in my life!
Snickers, a 4-year-old, 7-pound, female Calico who I was SUPPOSED to give anti-anxiety meds to each visit. Problem was that after day 3 (and getting meds each of those days under protest), she hid from me for the final 3 days of the arranged visits--in their huge basement, which had tons of places to hide (behind items in their storage shelving). (The couple had a very polished-looking kitty door cut into the basement door--which is where their kitty litter boxes were located.) I finally saw Snickers again on Day 6. She came out from behind the sofa and looked at me as though everything was good between us. But I didn't dare grab her; I was afraid I'd traumatize her all over again. (The med was made as a lotion I had to rub inside one of her ears.) I had to wear this fingertip thingee that looked like a tiny--uh, rubber, er, prophylactic. And I had to be sure not to get any of it on me. On that third day, I think that first dose of medicine went on the ceiling. Or I ingested it or something. Anyway, I had to relubricate my finger AGAIN after I had settled her down to apply the med. She's a beauty but likes pet sitters to view her from a distance!
And this is Reese, a 6-year-old, 14-pound Orange Tabby. He's perched atop the desk credenza, if you didn't spot him already. He, believe it or not, was even freakier (scared) than Snickers. The owners said I would be lucky to even see him. This was my first view of the cat on my first day! He didn't run, but he didn't want to be found, either. I left him alone and tried not to bug him. He did come out once while I was dragging around a ribbon for Jake's amusement. When I dropped the ribbon and walked to the kitchen, Reese mustered up the courage to walk up to the ribbon and sniff it. Well, getting close to one out of three ain't bad, given the personalities of the other two, I guess.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 8:36 pm
Nic, you are so sweet. Well, I didn't explain to any of them how EASY it was, that's for sure. They all loved them, btw. The client who owns Sebastian and Stella just thinks I am the best thing since sliced bread! And she was absolutely thrilled with hers. There were others, too, of course. I figured these were enough so you could get an idea of what I was doing. (Btw, these Smilebox cards help me fulfill one of the items in my business "mission statement" --as stated on my website.)
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 11:09 pm
Just finding this after missing several days of posts, and it is late, so I don't have time to view the videos, or whatever is on the links, but will hope to remember to look at them tomorrow. HP, glad you found a cat to love. He will teach you everything if you let him. Just a word of warning on Siamese mixes (in the future, not this particular one apparently). Siamese cats have been domesticated for 5000 years, so they have had a lot of time to teach things to humans. They can be very dog-like, so dog-like that if you have a very good Siamese, you can have non-cat people over to your house, and they will swear you have a dog. And the converse of that is that some Siamese can be VERY cat and can try the soul of the very best intentioned cat sitter, like jumping on your head from the top of a door frame where they should never be able to reach in the first place. I have mostly found Siamese mixes, however, to be half crazy. Be careful of Siamese mixes. So, Yay Jake!!! That is highly unusual that he would be so Siamese in the dog-like sense. Um, as information, I have had several wonderful Siamese cats and some wonderful regular cats between my age of 23 and 48. I really do love your client pics, love them. Keep them coming.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 3:40 am
HP, you certainly are where you need to be. You seem to really have found your calling and by all the clients and pets that you have it is wonderful to see as you embark on this journey in your life. The pictures are so cute, thanks for sharing.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 5:25 am
Wow Rusty looks almost exactly like my Sammie but she had more white on her undercoat area an was alot fatter lol. An Ita with Skootz.
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 5:47 am
I had a 17 pound Siamese mix I loved so much. His name was KC. The vet always said he was just a large cat ... no medical problems at all. KC was a little tempermental and prefered me to anyone else. He outlived my two other cats to be almost 20 years old. ITA with Skootz & Mocha.
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 6:57 am
HP, Jake is a breed called SnowShoe, a breed developed decades ago by crossing Siamese with American Shorthair. Our Mocha and Chai are Showshoes (rescue kitties). They are marvelous and have the best qualities of both breeds. I agree 100 percent with what Skootz said 
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 7:45 am
ITA 110% with what Skootzy said! 
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Landileigh
Member
07-29-2002
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 8:11 am
oh and a tonkinese is a "siamese mix" - a cross between a siamese and a burmese.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 8:14 am
I thought it was a cross between a Siamese and a Tonka truck, but what do I know? 
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 8:29 am
@ Huk!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 1:51 pm
Aha! I knew I had seen a cat like that before. I even have a picture of two of them saved to My Pictures, Juju-Chai and Mocha-Juju. And if Jake is a breed of cat, that explains his loving nature. You can probably teach him to fetch and even to jump into your arms (and not from the top of the doorsill) if you want to.
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