I pulled this story from our Nurses Station blog. It was written by one of our RN’s, Deanna, who sends us stories. I felt it was appropriate for you animal lovers too! Enjoy!

This morning while in my bathroom, attempting to comb down my well-slept upon hair, I heard a strange fluttery sound. I thought at first it was my husband, choosing his shirt from our tiny closet on the other side of the wall. This idea was negated when he walked past the bathroom and the sound continued.

I looked out the bathroom window to see what the commotion was. We have a large group of finches who spend the majority of their morning in our maple tree out in the back yard, and their cacaphony seemed louder than ever.

Imagine my surprise when I found one of the finches, apparently stuck to the window screen. The fluttery sound was the little guy attempting to fly away, with his feet firmly clamped around the mesh of the screen. Every few seconds, a couple of his flock-mates would come swooping near him, chirping and fluttering around him in encouragement, but the small bird didn’t budge.

Cooing words of encouragement to him, I gently touched his claws on my side of the screen, trying to determine where he was stuck. He responded by hopping along sideways. Hmm, I thought. He obviously isn’t stuck. By this time my daughter and husband had come into the bathroom to see what was going on. The finch hopped on the screen again, up a little higher but still apparently unable to fly away. He’d flutter his wings, but held tight to the screen. His friends continued their periodic swoop-and-chirp campaign, attempting to help him let go of the screen, but to no avail.

Birds are hard creatures to read. They have no facial expression to show how they feel, and I am completely unfamiliar with avian body language. However, I felt that this little guy was really and truly scared. After all, he could let go the screen, but he just didn’t. Even with the encouragement of his flock, he still held on there for dear life.

I put on some gloves and went outside to the back yard, leaving my family in the bathroom. I approached the little guy gently, touching his back in what I hoped was a soothing motion, all the while sending him a gentle swoosh of Reiki energy, to help him with his innate fear of all things human. Gently I wrapped my hand around his soft and tiny body and lifted him from the screen. In a flurry of feathers, he was away from me, chirping to his friends who had settled in my neighbor’s yard when they’d heard me come outside.

Just like that he was free. He could fly, his feet were not stuck in the screen. There was no physical reason that he couldn’t have let go the screen. Even with the encouragement of his peers, the little bird was scared to let go. Being perched vertically on the screen, I can only surmise that he was frightened to let go because of the strange angle and perhaps a fear of falling.

Drinking my coffee later on, and listening to the cacophony that is finches in the morning, I realized that we all need a little help and encouragement now and then. It’s so easy to hold on, to stay with what feels secure and familiar–even if it is slightly scary–because the unknown is always scarier than the known. We need to listen to our flockmates, take the plunge and find out that scared or not, we can soar after all.

“The Dogs In My Life
And
The One Who Saved It”

Why do the pets we love most spend such a short time in our lives giving us the unconditional love we find no where else?

I can remember my dogs, their personalities, eating habits (virtually all the same), sleeping quarters (my bed) and especially the greetings I received when I arrived home. Those wet, slobbering kisses I loved so much.

As the years passed, I remember all the boyfriends, fiancées and one ex-husband who had come and gone. But not my dogs! They were always there. My present husband of twenty five years loves dogs and suggested that small dogs would be best. Over the quarter of a century of our married life, I have brought home an Old English Sheepdog (Waldo), a Border Collie (Foxy), a Belgian Shepherd (Buddy), a Collie/Shepherd-mix (Mugsy – my heart) and our current baby (Khan), our 90 pound German Shepherd. I think my husband Al has been wonderful about the few pounds difference in the size we had originally agreed upon. His flexible manner and love of animals has been the foundation of our past and thriving kennel as well as a loving marriage.

After Mugsy passed away I was devastated. I am certain other pet owners experienced the very same grief and pain when their beloved pets passed away. Of course there is always one that tugs a bit more at your heart strings. That was Mugsy. The day after he passed away I walked through the house hoping to see him running through the house and sliding down the hallway. But no Mugsy. That was Monday. By Thursday I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I called my friend Geri. She is a dog groomer, a good friend and provider of all my rescue dogs. She said she had some puppies and a beautiful German Shepherd and told me to come down to her shop immediately.

When I arrived all I could think of was how my beloved dog Mugsy and I had walked through the doors of Geri’s shop for baths, nail clipping, Christmas toys and Sunday adoptions. I prayed this visit would bring another pet into my life. I had survived from Monday to Thursday without Mugsy. I couldn’t wait any longer for a pet to love and share my life with as I had with Mugsy.

Geri greeted me in her usual manner-blow dryer in one hand and hug with the other. She mentioned that the puppies for adoption were around the corner and that I should take a look. My eyes however became fixed upon the German Shepherd on her grooming table. His face was quite dark with piercing eyes that looked as if his lashes had been painted with mascara. When he smiled at me as I approached he seemed to light up the entire room. He was the most beautiful Shepherd I had ever seen. As I moved closer he licked my face and I melted! It was love at first sight. I never made it around the corner to see the puppies. This was a final sale!

Geri knew I wasn’t leaving without him. “Well,” she said, “I promised him to another woman about two hours ago but I haven’t heard back from her yet.” When she saw the tears well-up in my eyes, I could see them in hers as well. “Susan, it would break my heart to let you walk out without this puppy. “Puppy,” I gasped. “Yes,” Geri said. “He is only two years old and growing,” she added. “Growing? How much does he weigh?” I asked. “About 90 pounds!” Geri laughed. “Well here we go again, another “small” puppy. Al will just love him.” I laughed as I remembered all our other “small” dogs.

It was about 3pm and time to call Al back. I noticed three voice mails on my cell phone which I had previously ignored. Al had no idea I had gone to Geri’s but after a morning of crawling around the house looking for Mugsy’s fur and putting it in plastic bags while crying, Al picked me up from the floor as he went down on his hands and knees to finish the fur-finding. How many husbands would have done this? He was wonderful and I was pathetic. Today was Thursday. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in bed.

I called Al back to tell him I was at Geri’s and had found our next dog, at which point I began to describe him. Al listened quietly and responded with one brief inquiry – “Oh, how large is he?” Al asked. I replied, “Well, he weighs less than Mugsy.” Of course I did not reveal that Khan weighed 90 pounds. Mugsy weighed 128 pounds, so I didn’t lie but withheld all other information.

When Geri saw tears in my eyes and assumed Al would not be thrilled with the prospect of a 90 pound puppy, she grabbed the phone and said “Al, just come down here and see the dog. The two of them are in love!” Well that did it! He didn’t have a prayer.

Al arrived a half hour later and saw Khan on the leash Geri had given me as the two of us were standing there waiting to go home. My husband had a smile on his face not unlike that of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. “Can we keep him?” I implored. To which he replied “Sweetheart, how can I deny you anything?” Well true to his word, Al could not nor did not deny me Khan.

Geri told us a bit about Khan’s background before we left with him. Geri’s son Nicky is a “canine cop” who worked with five German Shepherds with whom he lived. Nicky’s job is to search for drugs and arrest the dealers, with of course the help of his dogs. Khan was used as payment for a drug deal gone sour. He was neglected, starved and abandoned.When we adopted him, he was thin, frail and as we later discovered had the worst case of separation anxiety I had seen in any dog.Nicky arrested the drug dealers and took Khan to his mother Geri knowing she would have no trouble finding a good home for him. He was brought into Geri’s shop on Monday – the day Mugsy passed away and adopted on Thursday when we brought him home. God turned grief into joy and that was no coincidence! Anyway, Khan came to us and the drug dealers went to jail. I think that was justice.

When we brought our new puppy home, Al and I began thinking of an appropriate name – something unique. He was truly an exceptionally beautiful dog. He needed a name to match his regal appearance. Recently I had been reading a history of world conquerors. Kubla Khan and Genghis Khan were mentioned. We received numerous accolades regarding the originality of our puppy’s name.

Khan was surely a conqueror. He survived all the obstacles thrust before him and deservedly found a new home and a better life.

As a home-coming gift we gave Khan Mugsy’s Burberry blanket. We know Mugsy would have wanted him to have it. My close friend Judy had a mat made for Khan to lie on with his very own name on it. He was really home now. We also purchased two new beds – one for the living room and one for the bedroom.

There was a method to our madness. The bed in the living room was to keep him off the sofa (Mugsy’s favorite place). The bed in the bedroom belonged to both Khan and myself. When Al wasn’t home I permitted Khan on the bed. This was a very special time of the day for both of us. Whatever tension existed within me when Khan put his head on my stomach, all became right with the world. Somehow his presence released every bit of stress in my body. We took our afternoon naps together. Although the hours varied from day to day depending upon my daily schedule, Khan and I always kept our standing appointments.

Al does not permit Khan on the bed. This is a hard and fast rule. Khan has tried in the past but Al stares him down. Every now and then Khan will try but Al wins the first round. However it is Khan who really is the winner of this competition because in the evening when the three of us watch T.V., Al’s pillows are covered with Khan’s fur. During the time Khan spends with me during the day, he seems to find Al’s side of the bed the most comfortable. So every evening Al annoyingly gets the mini-vacuum to remove the dog hair. This is always a tremendous inconvenience because Al has to get out of bed to get the vacuum. Now he keeps it on his side of the bed.

We’ve recently moved to a wooded area in New Jersey and Khan enjoys his new virtual playground – an acre of land. We have daily visitors: deer, a friendly fox, a ground hog I’ve named Maurice and a very old tortoise we call Felix, who has joined our pack. Khan has employed a degree of selectivity because the uninvited visitors appear daily without invitation. After all this is his domain. An occasional howl or two manage to keep the trespassers away.

Khan has completed our family. We’ve all come full circle because of the dog we’ve saved and in turn saved us.

Written by Susan C. Bagwell
Copyright 2009

Charlie
I woke up to this little black face with big eyes and huge ears. My vision was blurry and I was half asleep thinking to myself, what is this, what’s going on? I sat up and put on my glasses. It was a Chihuahua!

I was living with my friend Stephanie and her family at the time. We both work at the veterinary hospital; in fact we got the job together. We met in college and she always knew that I wanted a dog, a Chihuahua to be exact. My mom had one and I loved her so I wanted one too. They are nice dogs if you train them right. They are mostly a one person dog which is what I wanted. A dog that always had the love in their eyes for me and only me! I had never had that friendship or loyalty. I saw what Stephanie had with her dog and I wanted it too.

I tried at first with a dog named Nabisco. He was a black and white German Shepherd Dog mixed with husky who was at work as a stray and needed a home. I took him home and he was great except for getting out and running away and getting skunked. That was a task, giving him a skunk bath. It ended up that he wasn’t good with cats and Stephanie had a whole litter that she was fostering so I had to find him a new home. I ended up putting him on Pet Finder and he got a wonderful new home where he could run and not get into any trouble. It was very hard letting him go. Stephanie and I cried on the way home but we knew it was best for him and for the kittens.

After a couple of months went by of being dog less I woke up to having the cutest thing in my face. Stephanie had gone over to the neighbor’s house that morning while I was sleeping. She found out that their family from New York had brought a little black, cute as a button Chihuahua with them. She “stole” him and brought him straight up to my room and woke me up without even thinking.

He really was the cutest thing. His big eyes peering down at me. He was so tiny and skinny. I immediately took him from Stephanie and asked where he came from. She told me and I knew I needed to help the poor little guy. When it came to pets and the neighbors things never went well. I looked him over and noticed he had a broken tail and four upper canines due to him not eating right. The baby teeth usually come out when they eat hard food but he obviously wasn’t eating anything at all. He was skin and bones.

For the rest of the week he was all I could think about. I talked about him at work, with my friends and family. I needed him. Finally, I told Stephanie to tell them that I would give them $100 for him and a week later…he was all mine. I was in my glory! At last, a dog that I can handle and is all mine. His name was Blackie but that changed instantly. I had always wanted a dog named Charlie and this was my chance.

Charlie is now a happy normal sized dog who loves life. He runs and plays with my boyfriend’s dog that is ten times bigger. They do great together. Charlie comes with me to work Sunday nights for a toy breed play social. He is one of the stars of the group. And oh man, Auntie Stephy is his love! She saved him and she is his saint. He flips out every time he sees her; it’s a funny sight to see. He is always there for through thick and thin. He is my best friend.

The Barn Cat Gretchen

When I moved into the house that I am living in now, the landlord had a cat that lived in the barn. She had gotten the cat from a friend who was ill and could no longer take care of her. I told my landlord that it was ok for her to leave the cat there in the barn and I will look after her. She had left some dry food for me to provide to her.

She wasn’t a very friendly cat at first. She used to sleep on the hay and I would just talk to her and tell her she was a good kitty. I couldn’t remember what my landlord had named her so I changed it to Gretchen, perfect for her country living style. She is a fat cat with tan stripes and a white face, a cutie. If I tried to go to her she would look at me with wide eyes and run off. After a while of talking to her and trying to win her trust, she started coming down off the hay. I did nothing; I just kept on talking to her to let her know that I wasn’t going to hurt her.

After about 3 months went by of me talking to her and giving her the space she wanted, I went over to her. I talked in a soft whisper voice to keep her calm and went slow. I was able to pat her and after a couple of minutes she let me pick her up. I felt so good! I did this every day and she has now turned into a nice little girl.

When ever I go down to the barn she is there to greet me. She cries and cries, for food of course. She hops onto the table that has her bowl and yells at me. Every time I walk by her, if I haven’t fed her yet, she smacks me! It hurts! She puts her nails out and literally smacks me as I walk by. I don’t get it; she catches birds and mice but leaves them there without eating them. She’s a barn cat! She should know these things! I still end up having to give her dry food or she will continue smacking me.

My Chihuahua, Charlie, doesn’t like Gretchen very much. He will chase after her from the house all the way down to the barn; barking, growling, and hair up. Gretchen just jumps up onto her table where her food bowl is and does nothing. She knows that he is too small and can’t reach her but he still tries. She looks at him and I know she must be laughing thinking “you can’t get me….muhahaha!” Charlie barks and barks, jumping around, trying to get to her. After a while he gives up and moves onto something else. Meanwhile, I’m stuck getting smacked. But it’s nice to have her around to pat and talk to. It feels good knowing that she trusts me now and that I can be her friend.

Well……Let me start off by saying that out of the three horses I own, two of them are the nosiest beasts in the world!! I have a 23 year old Off the track Thoroughbred named ‘Hogan’ that is the best TB there is! Anyone who meets him would verify that I also have the two “dummies” as we like to call them in this family. Now, they are certainly NOT dumb horses…but because they are SO smart and SO inquisitive, they get themselves into trouble on a daily basis….again, anyone who has met them would agree….hence the name the ‘dummies’.  The ‘dummies’ consist of a just turned 5 year old Quarter horse named ‘Seven’ and a just turned 2 year old Quarter horse named ‘Dually’. Now I have to let everyone know that these two are related..same daddy…so this could be the reason they seem to share a brain on certain days

Seven and Dually are both ‘thinkers’. You can SEE the gears moving in their small brains when you look at them…..you know they are thinking and calculating the next move they are going to make. They are both over curious by nature and have to check everything out…even if they have seen if over and over everyday. They are super quick to catch on to new things and I even taught Seven some tricks….she learned them in only about 10 minutes, and remembers her cues and performs on almost a daily basis!

This brings me to my story about the ‘Dummies’ and the Snapping turtle.

It has rained for the past decade here in CT, or so it seems lately! I try to get my horses outside everyday for the whole day unless it is nasty out or if it is thundering and lightening out…if it is nasty, they stay in their nice comfy stalls with all the hay, fresh bedding to roll in,  and water they want…not a bad deal if you ask me! Well, the other day was NASTY outside..and they ended up staying inside for part of the day. I got home from work and wanted to clean their stalls so I turned them out with a break in the pouring rain. They were happily out munching on grass when I ran home for about an hour. I was on my way back to feed them dinner when I saw them all up in the top paddock circled around something that definately had their undivided attention! As I got up to the paddock, I noticed a big ol’ snapping turtle right in the middle of the ‘two dummies’. Hogan, being the good boy he is, was standing off a ways as the innocent bystander. I am SURE he told them they were going to get into trouble, but being the nosies that they are, the two dummies found a ‘new toy’ in the turtle.

I thought it was kind of funny at first….they were snorting, and at full attention, and kept sneaking up behind the turtle to sniff at it. I grabbed my camera phone to get some shots because, while those who know them would believe it, I had to show my co-workers. The turtle seemed pretty aggitated  and I wasn’t sure how long they had ‘played’ with it, so I herded them up and put them in their stalls so I could return the turtle back to it’s pond next door. As I was getting the horses in, I noticed blood on Miss Seven’s nose….OH GREAT…..! Now, because I have two ‘dummies’, I see blood several times a month, so it was old hat to me. I put them in and figured I would assess the damage and clean Seven up after I released the turtle.

After I herded this 10-15 lb turtle into a rubbermaid tote with a broom….yes, you should have seen me….I carried it back and released it to it’s pond. The whole time I was trying to get it in the tote and carrying it back, it was hissing, biting at me and just all around mad! I can only imagine what ‘the dummies’ had done to really make it mad! But soon I would know….

I went back and got my boo-boo cleaning supplies and went to see what had been done and if a vet needed to come out. Turns out, Miss Seven had about 4-5 bites/scrapes all on and in her nose…AND Mr. Dually had one on his nose as well! Nosy beasts! So not only did the turtle warn them once with a bite…but they went back for more and got bit more than once!! I know exactly what you are thinking….”what dummies”….SEE why they have their name?!

So after a really good cleaning to get all the germs out, now my only worries are 1) snapping turtle returning, and 2)salmonilla !! Great. So I did call the vet just to give him a heads up and to see if I should worry. I should be ok, just have to keep them clean and watch for any fevers or ‘bathroom issues’.  Now the chore is to clean the cuts! They let me do it that first day, but by the next morning their poor nosies were probably very sore from being snapped between the fangs of the turtle and they didn’t want me to touch them AT ALL……so my adventure continues in the quest to keep them clean and healthy……oye ve!

Will I ever get a rest with these two????

Thought you would like to see some of the pictures I nabbed that day….not the greatest due to them being taken with my camera phone…but enjoy! I am sure there will be more adventures for the ‘dummies’ to come…..I will share as they do

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Dude and the Empire Carpet Commercial, by Lora.

 
When my boyfriend and I first started dating, he told me his dog Dude loved the Empire Carpet commercial. He said that Dude could be sleeping, eating, doing anything and he will stop and literally watch the commercial.
 
We were lying on the couch one day watching television and this commercial came on. Dude was in the other room sleeping away, lying on his back with his black paws and white toes up in the air. And even with his loud, snoring nose awoke from his sound sleep instantly. He flipped over, came galloping into the room, sat and watched the whole commercial. His head would rotate from side to side with his ears forward listening contently. It was hilarious! I never saw a dog do that before. He was so into it.
 
Jim, my boyfriend, then went over to his computer and found the commercial on the website youtube. Dude came rushing over to the computer and started listening. Jim turned the sound all the way up and played the commercial over and over again. Eventually, Dude started howling at the end. I ran and got my camera and recorded the whole thing.
 
When we show this video to others, Dude sits and gazes at himself on the computer and starts to howl away. It’s a funny sight to see him on the computer howling and then have him in real life howling at himself. We have no idea why he loves this commercial so much.

Watch the video here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH1o11cXZNE

‘Pony’ being a nosy boy! 

For Christmas last year, my mom gave me a flashlight that is in the shape of a horse, since I love horses she gives me anything and everything that has to do with them and I happily accept. To work the flashlight you have to squeeze the tail. Each time you squeeze the tail it makes a whinny noise or a “horse blowing it’s nose” noise, I’m not sure what the name is for that but all you horse people know what noise this is.

I was walking down to the barn one day with this flashlight. I squeezed the tail and Lady freaked! We had just recently sold a horse that was her friend and I think that she thought he was back. Her ears went up and she was looking all over for him. She would whinny back and run back and forth looking. I kind of felt bad.

The pony on the other hand just wanted to eat it. He is so nosey! I got a great video of him in “Pony Mode” (a.k.a. him being his nosey self!)

Now, every time I have to use the flashlight I have to tell Lady that it’s ok and that it’s just a flashlight, I think she is getting used to it now. She has come to the sad realization that her friend isn’t going to be returning. But at least she has her little pony shadow.

 Lady & Pony Video Clip

Opening Day of the Back Paddock

At my barn I have two paddocks for my horses to stay in. One is used all year round. It’s nice, it has a lean too for weather protection and I can see them easily from the house to make sure that they aren’t getting into any kind of mischief. I also have a back paddock which is just electric fencing. It’s not as nice as the other paddock. There are rocks and a slight ditch that if they weren’t being careful they could slip and get hurt. I don’t let them out there in the winter due to there being a bigger risk for trouble.

At the beginning of spring, I make my way to that paddock in the back and make sure that the fencing is still up to par and that it’s completely horse proof. My horses like to come over and watch to see what I am up to. They look at me with wondering eyes that say “whatcha doin?” They know what it is that I am doing and they are itching to get their hooves over there, they want to run!

So, I’m all done, done with getting the branches and sticks off the fence. Check to make sure the charge is good so that they don’t go running into the neighbor’s yard, go and get my camera and get ready to open the flood gate.

I get over to the part of the fence that has the two boards keeping the horses from getting into the back paddock and they know what’s about to happen. I lift up the top board and the pony tries to jump the bottom one but being the pony, he has no luck. I get the bottom one off, move out of the way, and “their off!” They bound and leap and kick and buck. They were in heaven! Both of them would run back and forth from the main paddock to the back. Back and forth, back and forth they would go. Only stopping to make sure that a strange noise they heard, which was just the neighbor’s dog, was not going to be joining them. I get my camera out and take as many pictures as I could. It was a sight that had to be captured.

Eventually they stop and eat the grass. The excitement is over. The leaves have settled and the thunder has been brought to a halt. It’s time to go back down from heaven and back to earth. Seeing them being as happy as ever made my day. They make me happy and that’s what I want for them!

Hi All,

It’s been great to share my stories with you, but I am passing on the blogging torch to someone new. Her name is Lora and she is very excited about sharing stories about her horse, pony and dogs as well as stories from her job as  a vet technician.

I’m sure you will enjoy what she has to share and I will stop in from time to time to update you on the adventures of Riley Roo & Miss Kitty.

Here is how Lora describes herself:

“Hi there, my name is Lora Hilton. I am 22 going on 23 in July. I work at a veterinary hospital where I see, learn, and experience a lot of different things. I have an ex-racer thoroughbred named Outlandishlady but I call her Lady for short and a pony named Harley but everyone just calls him Pony. I also have a Chihuahua who is the best in the whole world name Charlie. I rescued him from a really bad situation as well as my horse. I was born and raised in Maine and moved to CT five years ago to go to school. I attended UCONN for animal science equine program but I had to stop because it was too expensive. I will go back someday! I live with my boyfriend and his Labrador/Pointer mix named Dude. Charlie and he get along great! I will be writing a lot about my little pack. They all have great personalities that make for good stories!”

My ex-husband and I were reminiscing recently about some of the many pets we shared throughout the years and he reminded me of the first time my Grandmother met Major Burns, our first ferret. I thought I would share the story with you.

A month or so after my ex-husband and I moved into our first home (I will date myself by telling you this was in 1986) we invited my grandmother over for dinner. Grandma C was a sweet woman who never had an unkind word to say about anyone.  She was a petite little thing who always wore dresses or skirt suits. I NEVER saw her in pants, and she never raised her voice that I can remember.

It was a big deal for me that my grandmother was coming to my house for the first time and that I was cooking her dinner. This was the woman who taught me not only how to cook, but to appreciate the value of brining together your family with a meal.

As we were young and this was our first house, we didn’t yet have a great deal of furniture, so I planned to serve dinner around the coffee table. 

When grandma got to the house I introduced her to our new cat, Jessica and our Lab puppy Sebastian. It did not occur to me to introduce her to the ferret, who lived in our spare bedroom. I assumed he was secured in his cage. That was a mistake. Gram was sitting on the couch, eating over the coffee table, which was not a usual occurance for this proper woman by any means but she was a good sport about it, when all of a sudden I see Major Burns pop his head out from behind a couch cushion. I was just about to say something when my grandmother stood up to go to the kitchen so I kept my mouth shut, firguring I could scoop up the ferret when she left the room and make a proper introduction. Major Burns had other ideas. He wriggled himself all the way behind the couch and then scurried out of the room. Gram came back,  sat down and continued to eat. At this point I wasn’t sure what to do about the ferret, but I figured he probably went back to his room and climbed back into his cage . I told Dale that I needed some help in the kitchen with something and as soon as we were out of ear shot I told him to find the thing before we scared the heck out of my grandmother. Too late.  I heard my soft-spoken grandmother say “Oh Dear” and I just knew what that meant. I rushed back to the living room and saw Gram bent over, looking between her knees under the hem of her skirt trying to see under the couch. Seeing my 80-something year old granmother in this position was like something out of the twilight zone for me.

Bless her heart she simply looked back up at me and calmly said “I think you may want to move, this house has rats.”

We explained that this was not a rat, found Major Burns under the couch and made a formal introduction. To my complete surpirse my Gram actually held the ferret in her lap and petted him for while. Then she went right on eating her dinner.

I guess the moral of this story is, introduce your guests to ALL the pets you have when they visit. Not everyone would have been as calm as Grandma C was.