Me, back in 2014 when I began to draft Purr Prints of the Heart, a book to help those dealing with pet loss.

I’m not a professionally trained pet loss expert, but I am an expert at experiencing pet loss and the grieving process. Over the course of my life, I’ve had countless beloved pets – cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and more. I’ve also lost many of them, so I know just how devastating the loss can be. I know the deep, dark pain that resides in the very core of your heart as a result, making it seem impossible you will ever be able to move on and be happy again, as well as the emotional demons that can invade your every thought as you replay the death over in your mind. I know the subject so well, I wrote a book on it: Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death and Beyond, including a guide for coping with pet loss for people who may need help with the grieving process (endorsed by Bonnie Poirier, pastor at Ministry of St. Francis of Assisi, along with Marty Tousley of Grief Healing.com, and Alice Villalobos, DVM / Quality of Life Scale), and I also created a national day to honor those pets we’ve lost – Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, held August 28 of each year. Read more

November 8, 2019 was the date I heard a meow outside our garage door early in the morning, the day a little black kitten decided our home was the one he knew in his heart would be the perfect forever home for him. He, of course, was right. Despite trying to find his owner, we had a strong hunch he had been both abandoned and abused, so keeping him really was in his best interest and somehow, he seemed to have already known that when he came upon our house. Read more

Almost from the moment Zee and Zoey met one another, they were inseparable.

Zee has always had a certain je ne sais quoi with the ladies. Call it pheromones, call it his dashing Maine Coon looks and charming personality, but, in short, he’s irresistible to them. So much so, the poor guy barely gets a moment of peace and quiet, because as they say in the movie Field of Dreams, “if you build it he will come” or, as in Zee’s case, “if I nap here she will come.” Read more

This is Zoey a few days before her 13th birthday. She is still a youthful and stunning cat. Photo inset was her at about 12 weeks old.

It’s odd. According to  International Cat Care, cats are elderly once they reach 11 years with senior cats defined as those aged between 11 – 14 and geriatric cats 15 years and upwards. My Zoey has been a senior for a couple of years now, but I’ve never considered her a senior. With today her 13th birthday, she continues to astound me because, with her, nothing has mellowed with age. If anything, all of her behaviors have intensified over the years.

Her meows, already piercing with their bleeping, yelping yowl sound have become so loud you can hear her outside. She still runs around the house like a kitten, jumping up on things and scaling walls and doors like she’s Spiderman with ease.

She still “kills” plush toys and drags them all over the house and her eyes remain bright, clear, and highly alert. She’s a handful, too. But I love my girl to the ends of the earth and back and every night without fail, she settles on the couch to cozy up with me for the night. Happy birthday, Zoey, and wishes for many, many more.

An image from 2011 of Zoey and me on the couch. She settles each night this way, and I love these moments with her.

We also want to wish a very special Happy Birthday to our beloved friend, animal lover, and blogger, Marg who shares the same birthday as Zoey. She is 82 today and anyone who wants to leave birthday wishes for her can stop by zoolatry.blogspot.com. We are also participating the the The Flowers for Marg on Nature Friday Blog Hop hosted by the Adventures of the LLB Gang.

According to the most recent White House briefing (22MAR21), the United States is vaccinating about 2.5 million people per day. There are 81 million people — or nearly 1 in 3 adults — with at least one vaccine dose and 44 million who are fully vaccinated. Eligibility requirements are changing too, with each state providing its own plan for deciding who will be vaccinated first. Here in Florida where I live, vaccines are now available for persons 40 years of age and older; persons determined to be extremely vulnerable by a physician; health care workers with direct patient contact; and long-term care facility residents and staff. Read more