Gratitude and Thanks

It's Thanksgiving and I'm reflecting on a challenging year that holds many things to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that things worked out the way they did when we had the fire back in February. Mama had our emergency kit, the Shawnee Police Officer carried Dottie down the stairs, and the local fire departments fought so hard, saving all the structures around our burning building.

I'm thankful for the staff at BluePearl, the emergency/specialty V-E-T in Overland Park who tried so hard to find out what was wrong with me and who cared for me so lovingly while I was there. They not only treated me kindly, but they treated Mom and Dad the same.

I'm beyond grateful that Mom and Dad made the excruciating decision to help me Over the Rainbow Bridge. I was so sick. Even though no amount of time on this earth would have been enough for us to be together, we'll have eternity together one day. I'm happy and healthy once again and I couldn't ask for more.

I'm thankful for everyone who reached out to help us this year. My Twitter family pulled together to support our family through all of the difficulties we faced. We couldn't have done it without you!

A special shout out goes to Linda @MrsKrameDog Kramer. She not only hooked Mom and Dad up with an invitation to the Q&A session before the Aerosmith concert in Kansas City, her hubby Joey Kramer signed Mom's CD AND she upgraded their seats for the show. It was the best Aerosmith show Mom and Dad had been to. My pals really pulled together on that one too!

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving and a happy holiday season. I'll be watching over all the festivities from my cloud and if you look up in the sky at night, you'll see my star twinkling with love.

Wordless Wednesday: Rebuilding After Disaster

Featured Furry: Andy

Mama has a new shelter love.

His name is Andy and he is 3 years old. He is very sweet and right away was climbing up on Mama to give her a hug. When he did that, Mom could feel immediately that he was very skinny. She gave him a few treats and noticed he hadn't eaten the wet food in his kennel. She got him a different kind of food and encouraged him to eat.

And eat he did!

In between eating, Mama would pick Andy up and carry him around. He loved being in her arms, carried like a baby. Mama really misses having me to cuddle, so Andy was a blessing to hold.

Andy is waiting to be retested for FIV. Since he came in as a stray, the folks at Wayside Waifs want to make sure about his health.

Andy says "Adopt me!"

Andy is a super sweet boy who would give tons of love to the family that gives him a forever home. If you're interested, go meet him at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City.

UPDATE

Andy spent a week with Mom and Dad on furlough from the shelter. He and Harvey got along great, but he and Dad just didn't connect. It was good for him to get out of his kennel for a few days, though.

Check out the video shot by Lisa Richman, Mama's favorite friend and fellow volunteer.

Wordless Wednesday: Basket Cat

Calling All Anipals

WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT

ATTENTION ALL ANIPALS! YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED!

I am requesting tweets to be sent to the members of the rock band Aerosmith. Mom and Dad are going to see them in concert in Kansas City on Wednesday, November 14th-just over a week away. Mom is dying to get an autographed CD from them to replace the ones she lost in the fire back in February.

Many years ago, Mom and Dad went to see Aerosmith in Oklahoma City. A few days prior to the concert, Mom got a call from their fan club, AeroForce1, saying she won a meet and greet with the band right before the show. She was so excited she jumped up and down screaming like a little girl...at work!

Mom and Dad stayed at the same hotel that the band was staying at. The afternoon before the concert, Mom went for a walk around the outside of the hotel to stalk the band members get some fresh air. She actually ran into the drummer, Joey Kramer! She got him to autograph one of the CDs she was conveniently carrying around with her.

At the meet and greet, fans were instructed that they could only have one item per person autographed. Mom and Dad each took a CD. The CD that Dad took was given to Mom's niece and nephew. Mom chose to have her CD of the album "Pump" autographed because the album had actually been released on her 14th birthday.

Then the fire happened. The autographed CDs were lost.

I want to try to get the band's attention and see if they will autograph a CD for Mom to replace the lost CDs. Maybe even the album "Nine Lives"? MOL

All but one of the band members has a Twitter account. The members on Twitter are:

• Lead singer Steven Tyler is @IamStevenT
• Lead guitarist Joe Perry is @JoePerry
• Joe's wife is @BilliePerry
• Drummer Joey Kramer is @JoeyKramer
• Joey's wife is @MrsKramedog
• Bassist Tom Hamilton is @THaerosmith

I would love it if all my pals could start tweeting to the band members asking them to autograph a CD for Mama. She's already been tweeting to them (she's @BoSoxAmy) but her tweets probably get lost in the stream. If we ALL tweeted, surely they will see some of them!

Thanks for helping me out, once again, I can't do it without my anipals!

Most Popular Phrases

Mom and Dad seem to say a lot of the same things over and over to Harvey. Here are a few of the most popular, in no particular order.

• No! No! NO!
• Get DOWN from there!
• That is not a toy. Not. A. Toy!
• You'd better cool your jets.
• Are you crazy?
• Stop that!
• What is wrong with you?
• Leave it alone!

And last but not least:

• He must be your cat.

Harvey, in sleeping angel mode.