Finding a new friend, losing an old one.

Sometimes, things just happen for a reason. We don't know why at the time, but they do.

Last week I ran into Petsmart to get dog food. Just in and out. But, I always have to go look at the cats up for adoption. Never plan to get one, but always look just because all of our cats have been rescue cats and I hope they find good homes.

As I looked down the line, I got to the last cage, and knew that cat was mine. I had to have her. Did we need another cat? Of course not. We already had 4. But I had to have her. A beautiful medium haired calico. Her hair type reminds me of a much loved cat we had lost to cancer years ago, and I'm a sucker for a calico any day.

Rob said when I got back to the car that he hadn't seen me so excited about something in a long time, so he had to get her for me, and that's how Bella became part of our household.





She's a bit of a diva, a talker, and a polydactyl, which means she has 6 toes like the Hemmingway cats in Key West. I think she is just beautiful.

Little did I know, that we would soon lose an old friend. Georgia has been battling a few health issues recently. Friday afternoon a UTI that she recently had seemed to have returned, so I took her back to the vet. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a UTI. The vet kept her overnight to run some tests. He called Saturday morning with the bad news. She had a mass in her bladder that had grown and was causing her kidneys to backup and shut down. There was nothing we could do for her.

Oddly enough, the way I found Georgia is very similar to the way I found Bella. I had gone to Petsmart to get something for cats or fish (all we had at the time)and the humane society had the adoptable dogs outside. I saw her and loved her, and had to wait about an hour for another family to decide if they were going to take her. As soon as they left, I adopted her and brought her home. I just knew she was our dog.

A funny Georgia story that I've told many times is, she was a border collie/corgie mix. Being a border collie, when there is more than one of something, it has to be hearded. She spent the first couple of days in our household trying to herd our 4 cats. All she managed to do was frustrate herself and tick off the cats, but it was fun to watch.

Georgia passed at the age of 13. We were lucky to have 9.5 years with her. She was always a great dog, and so good with the kids when they were little. It's very strange not having her in the house. She is very missed. I wish I had a better picture of her on hand, but others that I have are archived apparently. This one was after one of her haircuts, when she looked like a completely different dog.