Well, it finally happened.  After living with guinea pigs for five years, I became very attached to one, Louie.  We adopted him on 2 April, 2003, after the passing of Pigledy, who came from Germany with us.  He and his brother Buddy were supposed to be Fred’s new pals.  Sadly, the three didn’t get along, so that each had to have their own cage.  Because of that, an entire room had to be set aside to support three large guinea pig cages.  So, one room was designated The Guinea Pig Room.

Louie came with me to Germany in January 2005 as the second in what would be three trips to bring over the large collection of pets we adopted along the way.  Louie and I slept next to each other on the floor; he in his cage and me on an air mattress.  Everyone else joined us in March.  He was very social, and every morning I woke up to Louie looking at me from his cage.  He was so comfortable, he seldom slept in his liitle house.

Three weeks ago, Louie developed pneumonia.  After a little more than a week, I had my wife come and stay with me so we could both take care of him.  He seemed to recover shortly after coming to my place.  I believe it was just more comfortable having the cats and dogs around.  However, the illness weakened him greatly.  On Sunday evening, his last night, he was laying on my chest.  He decided after about a half hour to scoot up to my neck and nestled in.  I really wanted him to be comfortable, so I kept watching TV until my neck became too stiff to tolerate.  Stef put him to bed, but woke up very early to hold him.  After a few hours, Louie slipped away and joined his brother and sisters.  Rest in peace little one.

Louie and Riley

Today, the Boys and I are celebrating the second anniversary of Rufus’ surviving being hit by a train.  It’s almost like a second birthday when you think about it.  Two years ago today, a Monday, the Boys and I went on our morning jog.  Rufus ran into an apple orchard, and Max and I kept going.  The orchard was about 50 meters from a stretch of path that wasn’t very far at all from the train tracks.  It was our misfortune to be at that area when the first train of the day went by.  I still don’t know why, but Rufus jumped onto the tracks at that time.  I found him between the two rail lines; unconscious, but still alive.  So I carried him to the grass and took off with Max to get the Jeep.  My wife was just getting ready when I ran in the house and told her what happened.  Without even getting dressed, she grabbed her phone and ran with me to the Jeep.  She called our vet on the way so they could make any necessary preparations.  We got to Ruf as he was regaining consciousness, and when he heard the Jeep approaching, he tried to lift his head and wagged his tail.  It was when I put him in the vehicle that I finally noticed that his foot was nearly completely severed and he had a large gash in his back.  I began a very long week spending mornings and evenings at the animal clinic doing my best to keep Rufus’ spirits up.  It wasn’t easy for either of us, but by Friday, he was able to stand up on his own.  The doctors then decided that he would be able to survive and scheduled him for surgery to have his leg amputated on Monday.  He came home on Tuesday, and we began working on his recovery.  It was a slow process, but today he can run (not quite as fast, but faster than any human), jump (not quite so high) and play tug of war like nothing ever happened.  He is still a happy (and sometimes irritating) dog, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One Happy Guy

Thanks for sticking around, Ruf!!!

This morning I woke up early, yes, earlier than usual, prepared some coffee and sat down at the computer to see how the election was going.  At 4:35 AM, the state of Ohio had just been declared for Obama.  I knew at that point the election was over, and Senator Obama was now the president-elect.  As I began to get the boys ready for our morning walk, Senator McCain began his concession speech.   It was the kind of speech I expected from this great person.  I am a little saddened about McCain’s loss, because this was his last shot at the White House.  He is a good man and a great American.  His work in the senate crossing the aisle to make the congress get things done during the very polarized Bush era deserves recognition and praise.  However, I can’t help but feel that the nation needed someone who might do a slightly better job at uniting the American people.  President-elect Obama has an amazing gift for giving people hope when he speaks.  He doesn’t think like the old guard, and I think that might be a good thing.  Is this a new dawn?  Maybe.

CONGRATULATIONS Senator Obama!