Simon, a Well-Known Yorkshire Terrier

Simon, a Yorkshire Terrier, is a well known in his neighborhood.  Perpetua, his human, can’t walk him without being stopped by someone.   “Hi Simon.” “How is Simon?” “Are you Simon’s mom?”  I first met this
special terrier while talking with with Perpetua on the telephone.   Simon still amazes her.  He knows understands more than 100 words, and recognizes many places that he has been to including, McDonald’s golden arches.

One day Perpetua’s mother placed food in Simon’s dish.  Simon stared at his food dish, and gave her two big sad eyes. “What’s the matter Simon? Don’t you like your food? Do you want to go to McDonald’s?” He replied by running to the front door.   The two went to the nearest McDonalds where Simon chowed down his hamburger.  Upon returning home, ate the food in his dish “so I wouldn’t know what he had done” said Perpetua.

There is much more.  Simon recognizes and identifies his toys. If asked to bring his Christmas toy, he will do so.    If Perpetua mentions a neighbor, Simon will walk Perpetua to the neighbor’s house.

Simon was featured on the Miracle Pet Show television for preventing a tragedy.   Perpetua’s mother was at her house taking care of Simon.  She left a pot of boiling water on the stove and fell asleep on the sofa.  The pot began to burn.  Simon jumped up on the sofa, and began licking her mother’s face to wake her.

Kathy’s Tail – A Comforting Visit From Beyond

It is not unusual for people to have a conversation or to have a visit from a departed beloved nonhuman friend. Sometimes these visits are often bittersweet.  Many people have a belief system that prescribes “getting over” or “recovering” from both pet and people losses. Sometimes we adjust but never really forget or recover. People continue with their daily routines, seeking dreams, identifying personal strengthens and weaknesses, traveling to new places, traveling in our minds. Through it all, we remember them. Kathy lost a beloved golden retriever named Duncan. Toward the end of his life he hobbled and seemed to have great difficulty walking. Kathy took Jim to the vet and learned that he had a tumor in his pelvis. Not wanting to witness him suffer, she took Duncan to the vet for the last time to say goodbye. It was a difficult goodbye and an equally difficult adjustment that followed putting him down. she thought about him every day, and many times during the day.

Empty House

The first few weeks were difficult for her and her family. The house felt empty without Duncan and Kathy thought about him everyday. Several months after he passed away, Kathy was vacuuming her bedroom carpet when she heard the outdoor wind chimes move that Duncan loved to watch. There was no wind and she wondered how they could move. Kathy was convinced that Duncan was there with her. She continued vacuuming with tears in her eyes as she thought about her beloved friend. Kathy left the room to do some cleaning in the kitchen. She returned to the room and there in the middle of the carpet that she had just vacuumed was a lock of hair that looked just like Duncan’s hair!! Now Kathy was ever so sure that Duncan was visiting her!! She would later tell people that she found this visit comforting!!

Grandpa and the Squirrels

Here is a magical tail, I mean tale.

“My grandfather had a very special connection with animals, and easily befriended them. Some people believed that he liked animals more than people! I remember hearing about his life-long interest in the squirrels that lived in the trees near his home. They seemed to connect with my grandfather.

“He would walk outside the front door and look for them. ‘How are you today?’ he inquired loud enough for other human ears to hear. The squirrels seemed to pause as if they listened to grandpa. They must have trusted him, because one brought baby squirrels into the house one at a time early in the morning when grandpa was still sleeping. The squirrel tucked each one under the bed blanket, and later returned to pick up the babies and take them home. Grandpa was a babysitter.”

Meet Alex!

Say hello to Alex, parrot extraordinary. He lives in Santa Monica, California with a woman named Suki and whoever else happens to be living in the house. Alex is amazingly smart. When Cherokee, the german sheppard, passed away, Alex sang “Over the Rainbow.” When Steve who lived in the house sat down to a dinner with a new date, Alex asked him where Sharon, his ex-girlfriend was!

He has been known to make wise cracks. Sarah, Suki’s friend, thought that she was having a private conversation with Suki. “These pants hardly fit me anymore. I am getting fat. “Do you think that I should put on another pair of pants?” It may have been a temptation too big to resist, and he didn’t. “Yeah” he said with an impatience in his tone that Suzki interpreted to mean “of course stupid.”