A few of you might remember D2

[yomamab]

fionasmom, Darn I have to leave the house and won't get to reply until later on. I didn't forget about you though.

 

[yomamab]

I have to be very careful about animal videos, even the ones that have a happy ending. If there is any cruelty or misfortune that the animal experiences I just go to pieces. I was not even okay with movies like Homeward Bound where all the animals make it back to their family or Air Bud where the dog gets a good home. Basically, I avoid animal stories entirely and the funny thing is that if you like animals people are always giving them to you.

Merle swatted at me this morning and actually scratched my hand slightly as I put down her two bowls of nice dry and wet food. Spock was there with her and I patted his head, which is all that he allows, but she does not seem to make the connection that I am okay.

Mostly around here, with coyotes, an animal goes missing and it is assumed that is what happened if they are never found, especially in the case of a cat. With small dogs, there is always the chance of theft but that is a different story. On a couple of occasions I have been called by a neighbor who has found a dead cat and it is always clear if it was a coyote which is really enough of a description. The coyotes here are very thin and sick and have come down into urban areas as the drought gets worse. It is upsetting to see them even though they are dangerous as they are just trying to make a living as well. The ones in your area might be in much better condition if there are enough small animals to use as a food source.

Who knows if your departed cat visited you? Lots of people would say yes it is a possibility. Years ago I had an animal communicator come to the house to talk to one of my GSDs who was ill. I was really on the fence as to whether I believed in psychic communication or not but the clinic where I took him was very Los Angeles and had all sorts of alternative therapies and practitioners. She was surprisingly good and did seem to know information that she could not have ever figured out from just sitting in my living room with the dog. As she talked to my dog, she was interrupted a few times with messages from my departed dogs. In one case she was absolutely incorrect as the time frame she mentioned made no sense, but in a couple others what she said definitely could have been true.

The bully cat was back today, along with another one who only comes about once every two weeks but looks the picture of health. I sneaked back to give more food to the apartment cat later but left the original dish away from the bully as he was hissing too much and I am sort of afraid of him. Since I can't vouch for much about him, I would have to go to the doctor if he bit me and I have already been there once this year with a cat bite (only gave me a tetanus shot) and don't want to go back again.

This is not a good pic, and is not cats! The small dog on the left is the one that I rescued from the grandfather. The GSD on the right I found tied to a tree in the Angeles National Forest, abandoned and thin as a rail. Ignore my dusty stairs.View attachment 386879

You sure sound like me when it comes to animal videos. So many videos have caused me to choke up. Homeward Found and Air Bud also did it to me. I cried years ago during Born Free where the people released Ilsa back into the wild. There were some on You Tube that made me sit here with tears running down my face. Besides the videos I don't like to be at the veterinarian's office when somebody else is there having their animal put to sleep. One time when my son and I took his cat Garfield in to get a tumor removed, there were two women there with a dog and it had the strangest bark. It didn't take me long to figure out they were there to have it put to sleep and I about lost it. I didn't know them or the dog but that doesn't matter. I just can relate to how horrible they must have felt and I felt so bad for them and the dog. We never had a dog but I still like all kinds of animals. It just so happens that I had pet cats when I was young and have always loved them so much and wanted to eventually get a cat, which is what I did after I had been married for 7 years. Anyway, I do try to avoid animal videos too to spare myself the anguish.

I forgot to mention that Old Yeller was a movie that I didn't like because of what happened to the dog. I remember that someone gave me the book Call of the Wild when I was younger, but as soon as I found out what it's about, I knew I couldn't read that and never did.

That's really too bad that Merle is that way. Spock really should teach her a thing or two and let her know that you're safe to be around. It's a shame that some cats just don't make the connection between someone giving them food and them being safe to be around. I hope that Merle didn't injure your hand much.

We never lost a cat to a coyote or any other creature because none of the cats we've had here have been ferals and were almost all more inside cats than outside cats. Some were allowed to go out, but even so, it seemed like they preferred to spend most of their time inside with us. I'd hate to be out where you are if the coyotes are abundant and pretty likely to get a cat. I've never really personally seen a coyote in this area, but I know that they're around. I've only heard them and it's always been a distance away from our house. I wouldn't mind if they'd never come around here. Since I've never seen them, I don't know for sure if the coyotes around here look healthy or not. They should be able to find enough to eat. A lot of this area is wooded. We sort of live at the foot of a mountain and we have woods on the other side of the road from our house and there is a woods between us and the next door neighbor. I'm glad for that because I would imagine that the trees somewhat help to block the noise of their kids usually screaming and crying.

I used to think that ghosts and the supernatural was just a product of some people's imaginative minds, but I've really become a believer in those things now for quite some time. So yes, I really do believe that Garfield visited me after he passed, and my daughter said the same thing happened to her after he passed. She felt a cat on the bed when no living cat would have been there. That would have been interesting to have an animal communicator in your house. It sounds like she was good and pretty believable. I don't know how they do the things they do, but if there were one in my area and I could afford to have her come to the house, I'd wish that she could get messages from D2, Mittens, and Milo if I were to choose which three of our past cats I'd like to find out about, although I'd love to know about all of them if there'd be a way to communicate with them. I miss mostly all of our cats.

Please be careful when that bully cat is around. I'd probably be looking over my back all the time to be sure that he isn't trying to attack me or Spock or Merle. I'd hate to see it hurt one of them. I pity the apartment cat that bully cat picks on. You mean that the apartment cat is a feral too, right? Or is it a stray? I was just wondering if anyone owns it if it keeps hanging around the apartments or may be someone else feeds it too like you feed ferals. Maybe it hangs around over there hoping that someone will take pity on it and feed it, although I know that you're feeding it. I forget if you said if it lets you get close to it when you feed it. I wonder if the bully cat gets along with the cat that you said only comes around about every two weeks or if he's a bully to that one too.

I like seeing pictures of other people's pets and I think those two doggies that you posted are cute. I had to laugh at the look on the little one's face, how the eyes are looking like it's afraid of something or else concentrating on something. I think it's very expressive. I think it's so nice how you rescued the dog on the left after the grandfather was so mean to him. The dog on the right wasn't treated very nicely either, huh! How cruel can a person be to abandon a dog at all and in a forest yet at that. Hard telling how long it was out there before you luckily happened upon it and was rescued!

I don't blame you one bit for being half afraid of the bully cat. I wouldn't want to get shots because of being bitten and so wouldn't want to take a chance on bully cat biting.

 

[fionasmom]

I cannot do any animals stories. All the recent popular ones like Racing in the Rain, a Dog's Life, all were not read by me. Some very nice people though gravitate to sad animal stories and I suppose there is nothing wrong with that if you can take it. Call of the Wild is not really about Buck, the dog, but about nature with the dog used as an example of that, but he still has too many saad experiences. There is a lot of popular juvenile fiction like Old Yeller, as you mentioned, Where The Red Fern Grows, and a few others which also includes sad dog stories. Cats are less prominently featured in those kinds of stories.

The cat in the apartments is TNRed by someone, not me. She was trapped two years ago by me when I had the big cat issue one summer and my vet verified that she had an incision on her tummy and also a tipped ear. People fed her but I noticed she would jump the wall into my property from time to time so I investigated. She has been there for a long time and when I asked a young couple without a lot of money were feeding her when they could. I took over the feeding and now a young man, also without a lot of money, lives there who actually made a boxed bed for her under an overhang for the rain. We have an agreement that if he moves he will tell me so I can intercede for her if necessary. The apartments have several long hallways although they are all open to the outside and I don't believe she ever leave the premises which is why she seems safe from coyotes. The bully cat was not there this morning and I was frankly glad and when I just went to feed her now he was not either. My plan is to adopt her if she will live inside. Right now is not the best time as my old 15 year old GSD is not well. I don't know how much time he has with all his medical issues, but he needs a lot of help around the house, we have pads all over for him to use, and he can be noisy and restless....not his fault. I am afraid that it would seem like chaos to her and really scare her as I don't think she has any experience of dogs. I do have an extra bathroom where I would keep her until she was acclimated to my house. She allows me to rub her and even lift her off the ground..not hold her, but lift her so she might be agreeable to coming inside.

It sounds like you live in a pretty area which is wooded and rural. I am in a very citified setting and would have to drive miles to reach any woodland.

The animal communicator I used was very good. She absolutely knew some things that she could not have known otherwise like there was a yellow blanket in the other room that the dogs liked and that I had stopped buying a treat they really liked. Some things she was less accurate about but that was okay. She also seemed to understand their personalities despite not knowing anything about them. In fact, she told me on the phone not to even tell her anything ahead of time. Oddly, she was very business like. Short hair cut, wearing a suit with a briefcase and driving an SUV. I expected some very exotic woman is elaborate clothes, heavy makeup, sort of like the movies. However, the hospital where I got her name had an evening where you could meet with another communicator and learn how to communicate yourself. She was terrible. Not even close to anything, not even logical, and not even good at faking it. So I would not waste money necessarily on communicators unless you had some real interest or spare money.

I am connected with a GSD support group as well and in that group, sadly, all the dogs have a fatal condition. Members have often stated that they have seen their departed dogs in various places. These are people from all walks of life, some not necessarily spiritual or religious and not expecting anything like that.

It is very sad to be in the vet's office when a dog or cat has to be let go. Worse is seeing someone run in with an emergency which will not be treatable like a dog attack or medical emergency which you know is the end of the line. One night about 2 months ago we had to take the dog to the ER for what I thought was a UTI but was not. A couple women walked out, this being late at night, with empty blankets and I knew that they had probably put their pets to sleep. My husband, of course, who does not go to many animal ERs was upset that they were not taking us first so I had to point out to him what was going on before he made a fool of himself.

 

[yomamab]

I cannot do any animals stories. All the recent popular ones like Racing in the Rain, a Dog's Life, all were not read by me. Some very nice people though gravitate to sad animal stories and I suppose there is nothing wrong with that if you can take it. Call of the Wild is not really about Buck, the dog, but about nature with the dog used as an example of that, but he still has too many saad experiences. There is a lot of popular juvenile fiction like Old Yeller, as you mentioned, Where The Red Fern Grows, and a few others which also includes sad dog stories. Cats are less prominently featured in those kinds of stories.

The cat in the apartments is TNRed by someone, not me. She was trapped two years ago by me when I had the big cat issue one summer and my vet verified that she had an incision on her tummy and also a tipped ear. People fed her but I noticed she would jump the wall into my property from time to time so I investigated. She has been there for a long time and when I asked a young couple without a lot of money were feeding her when they could. I took over the feeding and now a young man, also without a lot of money, lives there who actually made a boxed bed for her under an overhang for the rain. We have an agreement that if he moves he will tell me so I can intercede for her if necessary. The apartments have several long hallways although they are all open to the outside and I don't believe she ever leave the premises which is why she seems safe from coyotes. The bully cat was not there this morning and I was frankly glad and when I just went to feed her now he was not either. My plan is to adopt her if she will live inside. Right now is not the best time as my old 15 year old GSD is not well. I don't know how much time he has with all his medical issues, but he needs a lot of help around the house, we have pads all over for him to use, and he can be noisy and restless....not his fault. I am afraid that it would seem like chaos to her and really scare her as I don't think she has any experience of dogs. I do have an extra bathroom where I would keep her until she was acclimated to my house. She allows me to rub her and even lift her off the ground..not hold her, but lift her so she might be agreeable to coming inside.

It sounds like you live in a pretty area which is wooded and rural. I am in a very citified setting and would have to drive miles to reach any woodland.

The animal communicator I used was very good. She absolutely knew some things that she could not have known otherwise like there was a yellow blanket in the other room that the dogs liked and that I had stopped buying a treat they really liked. Some things she was less accurate about but that was okay. She also seemed to understand their personalities despite not knowing anything about them. In fact, she told me on the phone not to even tell her anything ahead of time. Oddly, she was very business like. Short hair cut, wearing a suit with a briefcase and driving an SUV. I expected some very exotic woman is elaborate clothes, heavy makeup, sort of like the movies. However, the hospital where I got her name had an evening where you could meet with another communicator and learn how to communicate yourself. She was terrible. Not even close to anything, not even logical, and not even good at faking it. So I would not waste money necessarily on communicators unless you had some real interest or spare money.

I am connected with a GSD support group as well and in that group, sadly, all the dogs have a fatal condition. Members have often stated that they have seen their departed dogs in various places. These are people from all walks of life, some not necessarily spiritual or religious and not expecting anything like that.

It is very sad to be in the vet's office when a dog or cat has to be let go. Worse is seeing someone run in with an emergency which will not be treatable like a dog attack or medical emergency which you know is the end of the line. One night about 2 months ago we had to take the dog to the ER for what I thought was a UTI but was not. A couple women walked out, this being late at night, with empty blankets and I knew that they had probably put their pets to sleep. My husband, of course, who does not go to many animal ERs was upset that they were not taking us first so I had to point out to him what was going on before he made a fool of himself.

To be more specific, someone had told me what happens in the end to the dog in Call of the Wild; I knew from that that I didn't want to ever read that book. Another book that maybe I shouldn't have read and did is Black Beauty. How I acquired the book is that it was my mother's from I guess when she was younger. I never really had any particular interest in horses (it's not that I don't like them, but I like cats a lot more...it's kind of difficult to bring a horse into the house and spend a lot of time with it), but I decided to read it since it was in the house and it was animal related. I know it was just a story and not real, but when I read a book or watch a movie in which an animal is abused or lost or whatever other tragedy might occur involving the animal, I think of the fact that it could really be occurring to some animal somewhere in the world. Ugh, my head just thinks too much. You mentioned a Dog's Life, which I saw advertised on tv several times and I thought to myself right away, nope, I can't see that. I wouldn't be able to take it. I have concluded that, for the most part, I can't watch any movies that are about animals or read books about animals. I agree with you that it doesn't matter if it turns out good in the end for the animals involved. I can't handle the process of getting to the happy ending, what all the animal has to endure to get there. I'm pretty much an emotional wreck reading or watching such animal stories and I've always felt like I had to read the books in private or rent the movie so I wouldn't have to be in the movie theater crying. I've always been embarrassed by what I saw as a weakness of mine, that I get so emotional over animals.

I suppose that the person who TNRed the apartment cat lived there and then moved or else went around the area trapping ferals that he/she saw. Of course, I suppose that it's always possible that she lived right by there and elected not to feed any of the ferals. I don't know, but it was nice that someone took enough interest in the situation to TNR that kitty and possibly others. That's good that someone is feeding her, and I think that's real nice that you made that arrangement with the young man who is feeding her. It sounds like she must be staying there at the apartment building, making her pretty safe from the coyotes.

If the bully cat wasn't there, I'd have been relieved if he's that mean. If he kind of scares you and you're used to being around cats, I don't doubt that he'd scare me. Cats don't ordinarily scare me, but you can tell when one means business.

That's nice that you're thinking of adopting the kitty if you think she'd be okay inside. I think that you're lucky to have a husband that goes along with your wishes. I'm sorry to hear about your GSD, that he has medical problems. I think too that it would be best to wait to adopt the outside nice kitty so that she's not upset by the situation in the house with him being sick. If you don't think she's had experience with dogs, then I'm not sure how she'd act at your place if you have dogs there. I'm no expert and certainly don't have any experience with cats and dogs living under one roof. I sincerely hope that your GSD isn't in any pain and still enjoys his life. With your experience, I'd say that you're handling things just fine.

I think that I'm so used to this area that if someone would kidnap me and place me in a city environment, I'd shrivel up and die or something. We were in NYC several times for a place to take the kids when they were younger and just because we wanted to see what it was like there. (If you're thinking that I don't get out much, you're right.) Being there was okay just for something to do and things to see that none of us were used to seeing, but I said when we were there that nobody could pay me enough money to live there. It's just not me. I don't like being around a lot of people. I couldn't get away from them there in the city. We wouldn't be able to take our cats out for their daily walks if we lived in a city or even in a town. James Bowen's Streetcat Bob was an exception and being in London didn't faze that cat one bit, but Bob was probably one in a million and you wouldn't find most cats walking around in a city like he did.

Ha, that's funny how the animal communicator seemed so different from what you had pictured in your head. Well, I'd say that it is a very uncommon occupation and involving animals and so to me it makes sense to imagine someone NOT business like. It sounds like she was pretty good though and that she was definitely the better of the two choices. It just sounds fascinating and intriguing to me how some people can communicate with people's past pets, but I wouldn't be able to do it because of the money. The interest is there but not the dollars. I would bet money, though, that I wouldn't find such a person within a two-hour drive from here. MAYBE in Philly, which is about a 2-1/2 hour drive from here, but can you imagine how much that would cost!

I bet that if those people in the GSD support group who've seen their departed dogs would tell people out in the general public, people would be reluctant to believe them. I do think that it is possible though. I just believe that there is another realm out there that people don't understand or didn't have experience with. I'm pretty open-minded and if someone wants to call me a sap or whatever, I guess that's his/her choice. I have never seen any of our departed cats, but you know I said that I felt a cat (Garfield, I would assume, since he had passed right before that happened) on my bed.

I wonder if men are all alike with not understanding when a certain thing is taking place, i.e. at the vet's office waiting your turn and they take the extreme ER pet first. Yes, I can picture my husband making a fool of himself barking out that we were there first, etc. Yes, I'd say that you saved yours from embarrassment by preventing him from doing that. We were to the ER one night a few years back with our cat Katrina (which we didn't know until the next day that that would be the last time we'd see her) and a man was in there that was really able to hold it together. Maybe it's a guy thing, but I didn't even know while we were also waiting in the waiting room (so was he most of the time) that he was told that his dog would have to be put to sleep. I can't picture me being as calm about it as he seemed. I was so upset already when I was told that Milo had cancer that I started shaking and of course crying when we had him to the veterinarian. I don't deal well with losing a pet. After losing Milo, I had even said that I couldn't go through that again and I was adamant about not wanting any more cats. I still don't know what made me start looking at the adoption websites, which is how we ended up with Sam & Dean, our only cats now.

 

[fionasmom]

Hatchi and The Black Stallion are two more movies I could not sit through. Hatchi is that Akita in Japan who waited at the train station for his lost owner and people came and fed him. It is sort of like Greyfriar's Bobby in Scotland sitting by his master's grave. I got as far with The Black Stallion as when the ship was sinking and the boy was begging them to save his horse, which of course happened or there would not have been a story. But still, I don't have to watch it. A lot of animal stories are written with a big hurdle or obstacle for the animal and then the happy ending which is what people seem to like. Tears and then a happy ending. It is almost a guarantee except in stories for very young children where you don't want to traumatize them too much.

I was grateful to see that the cat at the apartments had been fixed. Her history is a mystery but having kittens in the apartment complex would have been a real mess with too many people involved. Where the cat lives allows me not to have to go into the complex as it is the young man in the last unit who likes her and even at that I can put her food next to a wall that is really in the parking area so no one can complain about her being right in front of their unit. Bully showed up again this morning to my disappointment. The apartment cat meets me now as she sees me away from where he sits and eats so she has figured it out as well.

I have always had dogs and cats together but probably won't get another dog after this one passes on. All of them have had major medical issues, not their fault, which required a lot of money and physical management. Everyone has been a wonderful pet but that does not take away the work or expense and finally losing them. All but one have needed long term care. As a friend says, the thing with dogs is that they leave you before they actually leave due to sickness and ill health. I would not waste any money now on a communicator. It was interesting what she had to say, but I think that I understand what my animals are trying to tell me, at least on this level. I do agree that there is a lot we don't know about other realms and what is out there and it is fascinating but for now I will just have to wonder about it. There is also no way to know who is good except word of mouth possibly. Many work over the phone so driving is not involved but you still could be spending money for nothing as it is a completely uncontrolled field.

The country is beautiful but I have always lived in the city. People who live in urban areas like I do get used to having neighbors and feel safe with people closer around them whereas you would probably feel claustrophobic which I do get. A lot has to do with our upbringing I think. I have friends who have left CA for states like TN and have gotten lovely pieces of property with nice houses for a decent price and a lot more space.

The ER is a terrible place to have to spend time. it might not have been as bad the night we took our dog as we were not allowed in so we saw nothing first hand and did not have to sit in the waiting room with people who had to put their pets to sleep. Actually, if we had been allowed inside, my husband would have folded. He cannot stand anything to do with death, including funerals. A few sick dogs or cats and they would have had to sedate him.

 

[yomamab]

Hatchi and The Black Stallion are two more movies I could not sit through. Hatchi is that Akita in Japan who waited at the train station for his lost owner and people came and fed him. It is sort of like Greyfriar's Bobby in Scotland sitting by his master's grave. I got as far with The Black Stallion as when the ship was sinking and the boy was begging them to save his horse, which of course happened or there would not have been a story. But still, I don't have to watch it. A lot of animal stories are written with a big hurdle or obstacle for the animal and then the happy ending which is what people seem to like. Tears and then a happy ending. It is almost a guarantee except in stories for very young children where you don't want to traumatize them too much.

I was grateful to see that the cat at the apartments had been fixed. Her history is a mystery but having kittens in the apartment complex would have been a real mess with too many people involved. Where the cat lives allows me not to have to go into the complex as it is the young man in the last unit who likes her and even at that I can put her food next to a wall that is really in the parking area so no one can complain about her being right in front of their unit. Bully showed up again this morning to my disappointment. The apartment cat meets me now as she sees me away from where he sits and eats so she has figured it out as well.

I have always had dogs and cats together but probably won't get another dog after this one passes on. All of them have had major medical issues, not their fault, which required a lot of money and physical management. Everyone has been a wonderful pet but that does not take away the work or expense and finally losing them. All but one have needed long term care. As a friend says, the thing with dogs is that they leave you before they actually leave due to sickness and ill health. I would not waste any money now on a communicator. It was interesting what she had to say, but I think that I understand what my animals are trying to tell me, at least on this level. I do agree that there is a lot we don't know about other realms and what is out there and it is fascinating but for now I will just have to wonder about it. There is also no way to know who is good except word of mouth possibly. Many work over the phone so driving is not involved but you still could be spending money for nothing as it is a completely uncontrolled field.

The country is beautiful but I have always lived in the city. People who live in urban areas like I do get used to having neighbors and feel safe with people closer around them whereas you would probably feel claustrophobic which I do get. A lot has to do with our upbringing I think. I have friends who have left CA for states like TN and have gotten lovely pieces of property with nice houses for a decent price and a lot more space.

The ER is a terrible place to have to spend time. it might not have been as bad the night we took our dog as we were not allowed in so we saw nothing first hand and did not have to sit in the waiting room with people who had to put their pets to sleep. Actually, if we had been allowed inside, my husband would have folded. He cannot stand anything to do with death, including funerals. A few sick dogs or cats and they would have had to sedate him.

With the description you gave of those two movies, I wouldn't want to see them either. I know it's nice when stories have a happy ending, but I can't stand the suffering of the animals in the meantime. I choose not to watch things like that too. Maybe some people can take it and then I suppose it might be good for them to watch them, but I don't do that either.

Yes, that's definitely good that the apartment cat had been fixed by someone. I hope that she keeps accepting food from you and whoever else she goes to for food. I made my mind up after D2 died that I'm not going to get into that again. If a stray comes around (and one HAS shown up here according to my daughter), sadly I will just have to ignore it. I have to spare myself from any future grief I might get. So I hope that it finds someone else who will pity it and feed it. I can't. I suppose that it's possible that I could get it as tame as D2 was, but I know that I will run into the same brick wall that I did before and so I'll just spare myself from having to endure all those emotions. I think that's neat that the apartment cat has found the new feeding spot you've moved to to avoid the bully chasing her off and eating her food away from her.

That's too bad that most of your dogs have had medical issues that took up so much time and money. I can see why you would try to steer clear of dogs in the future. I guess I'm closer to cats because my grandparents had a lot of cats when I was a kid, but unfortunately that meant that I had to go through a lot of my pets getting hit on the road. I couldn't really have an inside cat when I was a kid. We had a dog (water spaniel) at my parents' place, but that was my dad's hunting dog. I've just always preferred dogs over cats, probably because I'm too lazy to take care of a dog. Lol Well, I'm just not the type of person to fuss with taking them outside to do their business. I prefer a pet that is more independent and does their own toileting duties.
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I was outside working in the garden until it was almost dark, like close to 9pm and I quickly cut off some flowers for D2 and put them in a glass with water in it and have it at his grave. I can't explain it but it makes me feel a little better. I told him that I was sorry that I couldn't convince my family to let him be an inside cat, which ultimately resulted in his death. I don't know when I'll stop missing him, and I also don't know when I'll be able to forgive my family. It's tough.

I love the country and I guess you love the city, which I guess it's good things worked out that way, huh. I also agree that how we were raised has a lot to do with it. Some people do get used to the city after living in the country all their lives, but I really doubt if I could do that. I'm too used to being outside and gardening and raising butterflies (although this year hasn't been very good so far, as we haven't seen many butterflies yet).

It sounds like your husband is pretty emotional when it comes to animals suffering. I can relate to that for the most part because I seem to feel great empathy for the pets and the owners in that horrible situation of putting a loved pet to sleep. I won't have to worry about running into any of that this year because like last year, the vet's office is still making pet owners wait in their cars while their pets are being seen in the vet's office. You communicate by phone. Ours have to go in before too long for their annual shots.