New Kids on the Scene--1994-1995
 
In the late spring of 1994, Yogi began to display some of the same symptoms
as Precious.  He, too, was diagnosed as having a heart condition.  Also, at
about this same time, Buddy, Princess, and Gismo were allowed free run of
our bedroom whenever Yogi and the Twins were out of their room.  Buddy was a
climber.  We believe that he climbed up the clothes in the closet and fell,
which resulted in an injury to his spine.  Buddy had lost the use of his
rear legs.  He would pull himself along by his arms and occasionally his
rear legs would wiggle as he was moving along.  He really developed
tremendous upper body strength during this time.  He was such an inspiration
in that he refused to give up.  While Buddy was attempting to regain the use
of his legs, Yogi's condition continued to worsen and it wasn't very long
after this that Yogi followed his brothers.  Widget and Bookem went into
mourning.  They too followed Yogi within the following two months.
 
Buddy continued to pull himself along.  I gave him physical therapy every
day.  I would move, bend, stretch and massage each of his legs.  Sometimes,
I would place him in warm water and massage his legs.  It took a while but
he began to wiggle his legs more and more.  One of the greatest rewards that
I have ever received was on the day that he attempted to stand without
assistance from me.  We continued our efforts and he eventually did stand,
then walk, then run and finally jump.  He walked with a strange gait, but
was walking on his own.
 
Christmas of 1994 arrived and Scott asked me what I would like to have.  I
immediately stated "a new baby".  Two days before Christmas, we went to the
local pet store and I chose my gift.  There were about ten kits in the
display cage and they were playing in typical kit fashion.  The kits ranged
in age from ten to twelve weeks old.  As you are aware, the younger the kit,
the cuter it is.  I chose the older male because I felt that he would have
had a smaller chance of finding a home than so the younger ones.  We
received some paperwork with him and as I was reading it on the way home, I
learned that my new baby had two tattoos in his right ear.  I checked and
sure enough, there they were.  I commented to Scott that the new one was
like a little "Harley" rider in that he had tattoos.  Scott stated that we
should name him "Harley".  So he became "Harley".  I received Scooter two
weeks later for my birthday.
 
The dynamic trio now had a new group to dislike.  Each morning when I would
allow Gismo out our bedroom and into the living room, he would begin to
fuss as soon as he reached the door.  Buddy, Princess and Gismo loved to
harass the new additions.  Harley and Scooter were happy-go-lucky and never
attempted to aggravate the others.
 
In late summer, Buddy began to display signs of urinary problems.  He
visited the vet and x-rays were taken.  Buddy was diagnosed as having
kidney/bladder stones and surgery was recommended.  He went in for the
surgery and the spot on the x-ray that was believed to be a stone was
actually a mass of fatty tissue and there was not anything wrong with his
urinary system.  The stress of the surgery proved to be so great that Buddy
did not recover from it and he passed on within a month's time.
 
Princess developed a swollen jaw and I thought that perhaps she had an
infected tooth.  We discovered that it was actually a tumor.  The vet froze
the exposed portions and removed a couple of back teeth.
 
Harley and Scooter were growing fast and were fitting in nicely.
 
In tomorrow's chapter, we begin to head in a new direction
 
Margaret, Merlin, Rusty, Fancy, Princess, Gismo, Harley, Scooter and Coco
 (and Scott "I seem to be missing a lot of my socks, any idea where they
                      got to?")
[Posted in FML issue 1704]