Animal update

First off, unrelated to the family pets, we did great at the basketball biscuits and gravy breakfast.  They made almost enough to cover new uniforms and think we have the rest covered by a generous donor.  Still need money for basketballs, but it will work.  A big thank you to those that came out and donated.  We have two dedicated coaches and about 20 kids signed up so the program is off to a good start.

Now to the animals:  Jay pointed out that on my RIP to Meep, I mistyped the year he was born, it should've been 1998 as opposed to 2008.  That makes a HUGE difference at our house.  Meep lived 14.5 years.  He may go down in history as the longest living pet at the Wilhoit Ranch.  Time will tell.

Hank the Tank II is still kicking.  He is getting lazier and lazier and more humanized every day.  Lane and I were sickly all weekend and pretty much spent two days on the couch, Hank's couch.  Hank didn't much care for that...and he would just join us.  Lane would be on one end, I would be on the other and Hank would jump up and plop down right between us.  It was pretty crowded.  Occasionally he would hop down and go to the recliner, which is hilarious.  Hank is not small by any means, and the recliner is just an average-sized chair.  He does not fit in it at all.  When I came out yesterday morning, Hank was in the recliner on his back with his feet stretched out above him.  Looked super comfortable.

Hank continues to amaze me with his food choices.  Every morning I slice an apple to take to work and every morning, he patiently (not really) waits for the core.  He gobbles down that core like it's a dinner roll.  I don't get it, but it makes me happy.  He also will dig banana peels out of the trash can and eat them.  Talk about disgusting, ugh.  Maybe this dog is the healthy one!  He really does love grapes, but we know that they are poisonous so we try to limit them.  Yes, I say limit because if one happens to hit the ground, he will snatch it up before we even realize it.  Sneaky boy.

It sure is quiet without the Meepie.  Not that he made a bunch of noise...although for the past year or so, he has dry-heaved pretty much every day and every night, which I do not miss.  I saw Hank head back to where we would feed Meep to look for any scraps.  Poor guy, no more good soft cat food for you.

For some reason, maybe a bent nail or something, when Meepie walked in the kitchen or on the bathroom floor, you would hear a slight tick, as his nail hit the floor.  It was distinct and ever-present if he was walking around in the house.  I caught myself last night thinking I had heard that little tap, but decided it was the hamster from Kenya...who, I might add, has to be down to his last days as well.  I'll get to that in a minute.

I have had a house cat pretty much since I was maybe eight years old.  I think Francis was my first house cat and then Fergie.  Fergie had some serious behavioral issues.  You should know when you see a FREE CAT ad in the newspaper and it's been neutered and declawed that something is up.  We fell for it.  That cat was a freak, but I grew to love her too.  You just had to look for her.  I can't give you an exact amount of time, but after we brought her home, we did not see or hear from her for several days.  When I mentioned Fergie last night, Jay was like "Oh, that cat was a freak!"  Do you see a pattern?!

So Oreo, the hamster from Kenya, is not getting better as far as the hair loss.  He now has lost hair under his chin.  Lane got him out at Thanksgiving and shoved him in grandma great's face and she screamed.  Yes, the exclamation, "What is that?" fits perfectly.  It has no hair from the butt to mid-way up the back and no hair under the chin.  It is a pretty nasty sight.  The only left to do with him is take him to the vet, but I'm just not seeing the justification there.  Lane has a guinea pig on his Christmas list.  I wanted him to get a guinea pig to begin with.  After explaining to grandma great it was a dwarf hamster, even she said, "You should've got whatever your mom had when she was younger."  Yes, he should've.  There's always next time, and yes, we know there will be one.

I keep saying I'll try not to get a house cat, and last night I mentioned getting a lap dog...but then realized we already have one of those, he's just really, really big.