Tortie Tuesday: Thoughtwaves of Serenity

Although my current Queen Cat answers to the name of Serena, I'd almost forgotten until I dug up this old free-verse "poem," she originally seemed to hear that as a short form. The name to which she responded, clearly and consistently, at an age when normal kittens don't seem to hear human voices, was Serenity. 

This was the sort of thought waves she seemed to be sending out, when she was just a few weeks old.

"God grant me the courage to change the things I can change,

the patience to endure the things I can't change,

and the wisdom to know the difference."

Well, that's easy.

You can't change anything much when you're a kitten.

You can't even change your own back end.

You have to wait for someone bigger and stronger

to make that improvement in your life.

You wait for your legs to grow stronger so you can walk.

You wait for your eyes and ears to open.

You wait for your mother to feed you.

You wait for her to clean your bottom.

Some kittens have other kittens to help pass the time while they do all this waiting.

I don't.

At first there seemed to be some more kittens around hre.

They all disappeared.

I don't know where they went.

It's just me and Mother and Mother's Humans.

My father visits Mother, often,

but hardly seems to know that I exist.

Nobody plays with me

and sometimes I think that

when I get the use of my legs

I will really play!

I will show them all how to play!

I will break, pull down, push over, chew, or claw

every single object in the house!

But now I just

wait.

"Perry and Wink?" a human said.

"Not Wink, but Winston, for the 'Little Black Boy' kitten?"

Then there was no boy kitten any more.

I never saw what color his fur was.

I said nothing, nothing at all.

"Penny Candy?

She has that round orange spot on her head

and she's a sturdy little thing, with a grip like Candice had."

I said nothing, nothing at all.

"Saltwater Taffy? She has those colors,

a smooth licorice gray

and a smooth caramel tan color

swirled into a background of vanilla-white."

I said nothing, nothing at all.

"She doesn't look or act like Candice

so much as like Irene,

even though Irene's black spots were black as coal

and hers are dark gray like licorice taffy.

Irene's grandkitten could be Serene? Serena? Serenity?"

"SQUEAK!" I said

and began squeaking to answer

when anybody said "Serena" or "Serenity."

Most kittens don't hear much of anything

until their ears are open, I am told.

I am not most kittens.

I am Serenity,

daughter of Samantha and Burr,

who was the son of Bobtail and Irene,

who was the daughter of Bobtail and Candice,

who was the daughter of Pitt and Bisquit,

who was the daughter of Graybeau and Polly,

who was the daughter of Patchnose and Big Mac,

and none of them was a normal cat.

I may be small

but

I am a cat to be reckoned with.

Just

wait.

Irene's sister Iris seemed to be a big, strong kitten but failed to become a big, strong cat. Serena grew up exactly the way she seemed as a kitten, with a few surprises along the way, like the number of different sounds she used as "words" (she doesn't look Siamese) and her willingness to befriend other cats. Well, some other cats anyway. And she's not really destructive; she'd just as soon play with sticks or strings as with things I prefer that she not touch. She will, however, play with things that she knows are not cat toys if she wants attention. She is no longer small.

This post has been brought to you by three-colored animals. Tortie Tuesday is supposed to be for cats, but it's time this web site featured three of America's most photogenic adoptable dogs. So today we have three-colored dog pictures.

1. Sadie from New Jersey

Originally she was from Mississippi. Found beside the road, she came back to the metropolis with the couple who rescued her, or so they say. She seems to be about a year old and is getting close to the 50-pound mark. Although she may have fallen into the clutches of control freaks, they say you can meet Sadie at https://www.petfinder.com/dog/sadie-56699301/nj/edgewater/paws-on-the-green-inc-nj677/ .

2. Lenny from Falls Church 

The picture may be small. The dog is large, about 85 pounds of full-grown mutt. He looks like a hound, doesn't he? So why does his web page list him as a retriever mix? Retrievers have a look, or looks, but they are best known for a trick they all instinctively do. They like to dive into water, swim out, and wait for something to be thrown (or shot and dropped, if you're that type) down for them to retrieve. At his web page there's a picture of Lenny standing on the bank above a stream, showing that he can resist the urge to leap right in. For how long we are not told. Lenny has had some issues; he's not very good with smaller pets. He has, however, attracted a devoted trainer who is willing to continue working with him at his new home, and considers him to have completed several dog training courses. Lenny was picked over some other extremely photogenic dogs because he seems to need the publicity. Clearly he is a dog for just the right person. He will cost the right person, or persons, only $50 plus time and patience. Retrievers are not the easiest dogs to train to do anything besides retrieve things and walk with humans, so "leash, crate, place, and muzzle trained" is a pretty good resume. They like a good long walk; they'll spend whole days in the woods and/or boat with their human if allowed. Lenny's web page is at https://www.petfinder.com/dog/lenny-53274635/va/falls-church/bushmans-legacy-va743/ .

3. Orion from Fayetteville 

That face! Fayetteville currently has a lot of basset hounds looking for homes. Most of them aren't as unusual-looking at this one. Orion's striped face reminds me of some other kind of animal altogether, a badger perhaps, or an okapi...but that's mere whimsy. He is a "purebred" dog, 100% dog, no cat or horse or kangaroo in his ancestry. He's thought to be eleven years old--so he may have as many years ahead to sit at his human's feet as Lenny has to splash through the Tidewater marshes. Smaller dogs tend to outlive big ones. Orion is said to get along with other animals and children. Although his official adoption fee is $100, the shelter has a lot of basset hounds to feed and encourage interest in free samples of bassets' companionship. You can "foster" a basset--or two; they're small. If interested in fostering or adopting a lovable, short-legged, floppy-eared hound, visit https://www.petfinder.com/dog/orion-55920343/ga/fayetteville/basset-hound-rescue-of-georgia-ga146/ .