Intuitive

Marius was sick while we were in Pune. His main symptom was unfortunately diarrhea. Being a baby, he didn’t really know how to keep his backside clean, so it wound up chapped and sore (TMI, I know, but bear with me). I had to clean him up a couple of times, which involved holding his poor little bum in a bucket of warm water. Of course, this was not a pleasant experience for him. Warm water on raw skin is never a nice feeling. And bathing a cat under the best circumstances is not easy. I’ve wound up with some lovely cuts (sarcasm there, I’m actually not a fan of pain…) after bathing cats.

But Marius was different. Even being a baby, he still knew that I was the person that he liked, and he didn’t want to hurt me. So even as he was crying and wiggling around trying to get out of the water, he was very careful with his teeth and claws. He used his back feet against my hands to try to push himself out of the water, but was very gentle, and careful to not dig in too much, even though that meant he couldn’t actually push himself out of the water. At times, when it hurt more, he’d turn, growling, with his mouth wide open to bite my hand. Before he chomped down on a finger though, he paused, as though realizing what he was about to bite. Then he stopped and turned away, without touching my hand at all. He did this several times, which showed more control than I have ever seen in a kitten.

After the bath, when Marius was chilly, wet, and upset, all he wanted was a long cuddle. He climbed right up my chest and burrowed his nose into my neck like, “Hide me, Mom… the whole world hates me.” He knew that I was the one who just stuck him in the water, but he still wanted to be comforted by me. And of course, this made me feel like an even worse human being for being the one to hurt him, even though I knew it was what he needed.

A while later, after Marius was healthy once again, I fell sick. It was a very short lived sickness, one that only last about 12 hours. I was dizzy and nauseous. Any time I moved, I felt as though I would throw up, though I never actually did. Night was the worst though. I was very tired, as one often is when sick, so I went to bed. But sleep didn’t come.

I’ve only had one other night such as that one, which was a night when I had a bad reaction to my malaria medicine several years ago. I ached all over as though I had the flu, still felt nauseous, and even if I did get a little sleep, it was full of vivid dreams and not refreshing in the least.

We were in Ooty when this happened. It was cold, and at bedtime, Marius usually dove under the covers and snuggled down, focused on his own contentment. This time, he didn’t go under the covers at all, but stayed on top of them, snuggled firmly against my shoulder. Marius also typically slept the night through, cuddling up against me in his sleep, but not really waking unless he needed a drink of water or some such. But this night, he seemed very attentive to what I was doing. I would wake up, feeling feverish and achy and like I couldn’t breathe properly. Sometimes I’d toss and turn, trying to get some sort of position that was relatively comfortable, but other times, I’d barely move at all. Any way that I woke though, whether I moved or was still, Marius woke too. He’d grab my face with his paw, and start cleaning it very gently. Then he’d often drape himself across my neck and finish cleaning my face, then lay there on my neck until I fell asleep. It doesn’t sound like it would help too much, but somehow, it made it much easier to fall asleep. The next time I woke, Marius would be back by my shoulder, ready to help me back to sleep once more.

I’ve never had such an intelligent, intuitive kitten before. Perhaps it comes from his upbringing, and the fact that he’s spent nearly 24/7 with me since the day that I found him. Maybe he is just brilliant. Oh, he still has plenty of kittenish naughtiness when he wants to, but that’s what makes him interesting. I probably would have claimed before to be a dog person, but really, species makes no difference. Anyone I can connect with like this makes me happy.

Of course, then he falls in love with a cow pie and I have to wonder how smart he really is...

Not So Artful Dodger

I wasn’t looking for a new dog. If I was, I would already have one. There were some awfully adorable little street pups that I saw in the last couple of weeks. I sort of toyed with the idea that it would be fun to take another puppy home. But I had Marius. And, trust me, one mental little cat is all one really needs to deal with.

But then, again, I was not looking for a cat when I found that crazy kitten. And I was not looking for a dog when I found Cosette last year. These things sort of happen. And, while it may not be perfect timing for ease of life, it is perfect timing for what I need. Ease is not always the most important thing in life.

Leaf and Marius trying to decide if it was safe to play together. 

I shouldn’t have even been in Hyderabad at the time. Things have switched around so much, and I’ve been a little annoyed by all of that (though, I’ve been handling the changes a lot better than I normally would, just ask my Mom.). This night though, I was particularly cross. I needed to try to get a taxi and plan my lodging, and the internet wasn’t working, so I had to go find a place to use the internet. The first place I went was closed, and they sort of vaguely motioned toward another place where I could get internet. I wasn’t entirely certain where the guy meant, and I didn’t feel like crossing the busy street 8 times to figure it out. So I continued down the same side of the street to see what I could find there. I was in my own little world, earbuds in my ears, thinking about life. And then I saw this tiny shape in the middle of the road, up against the median. I couldn’t see details in the glare of the headlights but I could tell that it was a pretty small puppy.

It started forward, desperate to cross the road, but chose a bad time to go. I couldn’t figure out how whether to look away or keep watching when I realized the motorcycle was most definitely too close to her, and there was nothing I could do about it. I ended up watching sort of through half closed eyes. I did not want to see a puppy die, but I did want to give her the dignity of having someone who cared, at least once.

The motorcycle hit the puppy a glancing blow to her right shoulder. It didn’t even tumble her, but she was now hurt and scared, which did not make it any easier to cross the road. She held her paw up, crying so loudly that my earbuds didn’t block it out. Spinning around in circles, she almost ran into the path of another bike, then went the other direction, and ended up in the path of a car. She was panicked, and wouldn’t last much longer.

As soon as there was a gap in traffic big enough that I would not simply end up also hit by a vehicle, I ran out and scooped the puppy into my arms. She still had her paw up, and was crying at the top of her lungs. A little melodramatic, but given her experiences, she was well within her rights. She snuggled tight against me, immediately trusting me. 

I had a short mental debate. My folks were not at all pleased when I told them that I was bringing a kitten home. How would it be if I said that I was bringing a puppy? What could I do with her? But really, what can one do, with a puppy one has pulled out of traffic? Is it really such an easy choice to just turn it loose once again? Not for me, it wasn’t. The easier choice, despite the difficulties I knew it would cause, was to take the puppy with me. So that’s what I did, though my brain made it very clear to me that I was insane.

I thought for a moment to name her Eponine, to go along with Marius and Cosette, but decided I wasn’t really interested in continuing the Les Mis names. Once you start, how do you figure out where to stop? So her name is Leaf, which comes from a book series that my Dad and I love to read. And somehow, the name really fits her.

In the 2 days that I have had Leaf, she has gone from being a frightened puppy who wanted to be friends, but followed me around hesitantly, tail wagging as though she was asking me not to hit her, to a puppy who plays with her brother Marius, and takes naps with him, and tries to gnaw on my leg no matter how many times I give her a different chewy. 

They're learning to be friends :~)

Leaf is beautiful and sweet, and a heck of a lot of trouble. I wish it wasn’t so difficult to get her home, but I don’t regret my decision to take her. I just hope things work smoothly to take her. 

World Traveler

Marius' 1st train

Marius has the misfortune to be the kitten that I picked up during this trip. Cosette was lucky and had her own home. Most people in the area knew her and most of them liked her as well. She traveled around a little bit with me on my bike, but the first time she actually traveled was when we left India for the US. Marius, on the other hand, has already had a lot of travel experience for such a young cat. Heck, he’s had a good bit of travel experience for any cat. And he’s remarkably chill about it all for such a little guy.

Sleeping in his basket before we got on the train

 

The first train was what really concerned me. We had 36 hours to be on the train with no real option for getting off of it. What he if freaked out? What if he got sick and made a mess all over everything? What if other passengers took issue with him and got mad that he was there? What if he made a lot of noise and refused to stop? There were so many things that could possibly go wrong.

Marius was a little displeased to begin with, due to the fact that he had to start out in his basket instead of on my lap. After a couple of minutes of disgruntled meowing, he settled down and fell asleep.

Then the trip got underway, and you should have seen the looks on the faces of everyone there when I pulled Marius out of his basket. He was still a little sleepy, but very happy to be out of his basket. He climbed onto my shoulder and snuggled in, staring at everything around us. People were pointing and taking pictures, and calling their friends over to be sure that they saw Marius. I just tried to act like it was perfectly normal :~)

And then I got to experience what friends have told me is typical of traveling with a child in India. Everyone wanted to hold Marius. It started while I was eating. Crazy little thing was trying to climb into my food. I had him under control, but some of the people sitting near me wanted to take him. I think it was just a convenient excuse for them to take Marius.



his first time going to someone else

First, a group of them took him for cuddles and gave him biscuits. He was still in my line of sight, but I kept checking to make sure they were holding his leash and whatnot. Didn’t want him stepping out the window.

Then people from other compartments realized that Marius was there. People came to take him to visit the people they were traveling with. I’m not sure how many biscuits that kitten ate over the next couple of hours.

I got a little nervous when we came to a stop and Marius was nowhere to be seen. Everyone just sort of laughed when I asked for him back, telling me that he was sleeping or eating or some such. But when we were stopped, I refused to just wait for them to decide to bring him back.

such a ladies' man

Pretty sure everyone thought I was mental when I went and insisted upon getting him back. But they handed him to me without any problem.

The rest of the evening sort of went this way. I’d have him a little while, then someone would take him for a bit. Then he’d come back to me, and people would line up to get pictures of the crazy white chick and her kitten. Marius handled it all like a pro. He was happiest when he got to sit with his Mommy (he’s a bit of a Mommy’s boy), but he was friendly toward everyone, and only pooped on one person’s belongings.

We were a little less of a novelty the next day, which was kind of nice. People were still friendly toward us, but in less of a staring at a circus side show manner. Marius slept most of the day (since he’d stayed awake the whole night) and played happily during the time that he was awake.

All told, our first train ride was a great experience for both of us. I’m hoping the next one goes as well. Or better.

He loves to take up way more than his fair share of the seat...
 

   

Curiousity didn't seem to do too much to him



Happy boy

Going a little psycho after waking up 

Sleeping on his banana pillow like a true world traveler.

 

Remember, Remember, the 3rd of September

Cosette now has a little brother to share this blog with. And I have a new favourite day of the year.

On the 3^rd of September (though I’m hoping you were able to guess that from the title of this blog), I was walking around Fort Kochi, thinking about Cosette and wishing I could be with her on the 1 year anniversary of the day I found her.

I explored the town some, did a little shopping, etc., etc. Actually, I don’t rightly recall just what I did. But as I walked down the road along the docks, I saw a tiny kitten who was darting out into traffic as though looking for someone to pick him up. What a shock, I picked him up, and instead of fighting me as many cats would, he spun around, trying to snuggle closer to me. I was pretty much smitten with him immediately.

I knew though that I wouldn’t be able to take him back to the guesthouse where I was staying. I was in a dorm room with other people, so there would be no way to hide the fact that I had a kitten. Especially as he demonstrated that he knew the best way to get my attention was to climb up and meow in my face.  
So I took him to the Mad Dogs’ Trust, an animal shelter across town. I got many strange looks, walking through the town with a kitten who kept meowing, and trying to climb up onto my shoulder. I finally reached the point where I simply did not react to the looks. Honestly, you reach a point after some time, where you just don’t even care anymore that you’re being stared at. You see it, but you stop being bothered. And I knew that my options were to either not be stared at too much (but probably be stared at some, just for being white) and leave the kitten behind, or take care of him and be stared at a lot. Staring didn’t really bother me when those were the options. Instead, I pretended that there was no one on the street but Marius and me. Though, for some reason, my mind did register the people who got huge smiles on their faces upon seeing us…

I left him for the night at the shelter, promising to be back the next morning to see him. The thing of it is, even then, I had no plans to take him home with me. I planned to leave him at the shelter. As it turned out, however, they were just preparing to close down, and any animals they couldn’t find homes for would be turned out onto the street. And Marius, being new, would have been low on the list of animals they would make an effort to find a home for. I contacted a couple of people, but neither could take another cat. For this reason, my plans changed, and I decided that, in spite of the hassle it would be, I would take Marius with me.
And this was the beginning. During the time we spent in Fort Kochi, Marius and I grew very attached to one another. He went all over town with me. We went for walks, went to restaurants, and even watched the sunset at the beach. He occasionally became frightened by people, or dogs, or loud vehicles, but eventually realized that if he was snuggled up to me, there was no reason to be afraid.
So once again, I have ended up with a friend who I love dearly though I never foresaw that we would meet. We’ll see how all of this ends up.

 

Sun Dog Revisited

Looking at the date, I'm pretty sure that she was pouting because she couldn't believe I'd leave her alone with some crazy that she didn't know :~) 

A friend just sent me this picture of Cosette, with the message, ‘I miss puppy’. My reply was something along the lines of, ‘you think you miss her?’ Since the moment I picked Cosette up and zipped her into my hoody, we’ve been very close. Some may say a little too close. I know I was scolded by a former employer for choosing Cosette over spending extra time at work. Somehow, especially with the job being what it was, I felt that Cosette was by far the better choice. She rode in my messenger bag on the motorcycle with me, sat on my lap during toast night, when we watched Dr Who with the dorm, snuggled with me while I read or worked on the computer, slept with me at night, and (before she was banned from the office) either slept on my lap, or snuggled under my desk on a shirt of mine while I worked.

I’ve been super mad at that dog several times. Usually when she ran around with this silly puppy grin on her face, keeping just out of my reach as I tried to catch her. But I could never stay mad at her, and she never did anything terrible (though from what I hear, she’s giving my Mom plenty of crap…). Whenever I’m cross with her, she rolls over on her back to apologize, and looks so pathetic that I just can’t help giving her a cuddle.

I miss walking in the door (even after only 30 seconds outside), and having her do her happy puppy dance, and jump into my arms. I miss seeing her watch me through the window if I’m outside without her, just waiting for me to come back in. I miss being outside with her and playing fetch or just running around with her. I miss snuggling when we come back inside and she’s finally worn out enough to sleep. This blog isn’t really anything profound. I just miss my puppy.

I referred to Cosette as a “Sun dog” when I first got her (hence the blog title…), but then I sort of thought that was over when I managed to get her to the States. I wasn’t thinking though about the fact that just because she’s in the States, that doesn’t mean that we’ll be constantly together. She’s there, but I’m here. And it’s hard. Some days, I just want to go hiking with her, or have a good long cuddle. But I’m here, and it’s not possible.

I’ll see her in a few months though, and I look forward to that. And it will be wonderful to see her again, just as the sun dogs you see in the sky are all the more beautiful for their rarity.

For now, I’m just glad that I know she’s in good hands (even when she’s being a complete butt…), and I’ll see her later this year.

Silver Medal and Some Puppies

Cosette and I have chosen our favourite Olympian from this year's winter games.

Gus Kenworthy is doing more in Sochi than just skiing. He found some new friends in a litter of pups that were hanging around the Olympic village. And going beyond just getting some treats and loving on them during his time in Russia, Gus is working on getting vaccinations and everything needed to bring the pups, and even their Mom home to the States.
After everything I went through to get Cosette home from India, I have an insane amount of respect for this guy, who is both rescuing these dogs, and also competing in the Olympics! I mean, seriously, he just won a silver medal! It would be so easy to say that he had too much to focus on, he couldn't be bothered with stray puppies. And that makes it that much more impressive.
Anyway, I just wanted to share our favourite with you. Check out the article below to read more about Gus and the pups

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/321527/166/US-slopestyle-skier-aims-to-rescue-stray-dogs-in-Sochi

A Letter to Glenrock

Dear Glenrock,
Welcome back to school! How has your first week of school been?
Thought I'd send you all an update on Cosette. A few of you have seen photos of her on facebook, but you guys asked for pictures, so here they are.

Cosette has taken to the snow like she was born in Northern IL. She stays out in it longer than our other two dogs, though the first time she squatted in the snow to pee, she had a bit of a shock...And learned to not squat quite so far. :~)

She is finally able to run around off her leash, which she loves. And to be honest, not having the leash has made her more cooperative. She responds a lot more to the word "come" than she ever used to :~) Except when she's chasing the chickens...I guess I can understand that. She's fascinated by the chickens. I think she likes to watch them squawk and flap when she runs over to them.

Cosette learned that not all cats are as scary as Mr. Rocky. The cat in the photo is Nola. Cosette seems to like her the best, because she is fluffy. She constantly tries to chew on Nola's fur. Nola just snuggles up against her.
Cosette is kinda scared of the other cats, especially the one named E.T., who sometimes sneaks into the house. She is terrified when he is inside, and barks and whines til I put him out.

Cosette spends half her time sleeping on the couch. She has no boundaries when playing with the other dogs, so it's amazing that they are as nice to her as they are. Every once in a while, there is a loud growl and bark, and someone tries to bite Cosette. She backs off for about 2 seconds and then she is back in their faces again.

I think Cosette is trying to prove that no people are better than all of you. She took to my parents immediately which is good since she'll be living with them for a while, but otherwise she has been a little unsure of people. She's terrified of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and most of my friends. I took it as a comment about me taking her away from you. She finally decided that she liked my 9-year old cousin, but he's the only American that doesn't live with me that she is really fond of. Racist little dog :~)

Well, that's pretty well what life is like around here. We miss you guys and hope all is well with you.
Study hard, play nice with the other kids, make us proud.
Love,
Laura and Cosette










P.S. Enjoy a few more pictures of Cosette.

 

Life is pretty rough for this poor dog. Work all day, never a chance to relax. She's thinking she'd have been better off as a street dog.