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Wasabi Crossed Over
Saturday, July 11th, 2020 11:42 amA bright new star shines in the sky. Mr. Wawa ( Wasabi ) crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
He was 20 years old. He lived a very long, happy life. Fluffy soft and cuddles, unending purrs. Soft as a cloud. Always waahhh-ing and talking. Singing us the song of his people for some food and yums. He was the most patient and tolerant cat I have ever known. Best stray rescue and foster failure I ever could have asked for.
Any of you who have known me any amount of time, know that he meant the world to me. I love all my animals, but my cats are my heart. Wawa was a rescue from a farm in Mississippi, where he had been shot. Some of you who have been around since the old days of LiveJournal will even remember when I caught him and brought him home. Befriended him with hotdogs. So many people in the community came together to help support efforts for his rescue and vet care.
He went on to become a therapy cat and Emotional Support Animal. He helped me through the most difficult moments in my life. He has been a constant source of happiness and laughs, always talkative with a wide range of vocals. Many of you over the years heard him, whether we were on the phone or playing video games with voice chat, and especially when I started streaming. He was our official gaming and raiding cat, always wishing good luck meows on big boss fights.
Everyone who met him loved him. Even people who didn't like cats. He changed the minds of many people about cats. He touched the lives of many. I owe a special thanks to Sherry and Marshall, and to Brian, for when you fostered him temporarily when we were in bad living situations. You helped keep our family together and gave us hope when we most needed it. I am eternally grateful to you all.
Wawa had been struggling on and off with health problems over the past few years, mostly GI and thyroid stuff. Every time I took him in for a new senior exam and bloodwork, I feared the worst. But the vets always remarked he was the healthiest elderly cat they had ever seen, besides the more minor problems he had.
He had his recent checkup a month ago and everything looked and sounded fine, besides weight loss. We had been struggling with keeping weight on him, just something that happens with geriatric animals after certain point. He was on a special diet later in life and medication to help.
Wawa had been improving and able to eat more solid foods again, and it gave me some hope that we'd get weight back on him and he'd be okay and I would be blessed with another year or more of time with him.
His mind and his soul were always willing, but his little body just decided it was time. He passed away safe at home, surrounded with love and comfort. Wawa is in a better place now, free and whole in spirit.
He will always be with us. Energy cannot be lost. It simply changes forms.
Thank you for everything. We love you. Rest easy now my little Wah-ling.
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" We'll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves; we'll be falling in the raindrops and blowing in the fresh breeze; we'll be glittering in the dew under the stars and the moon . . . " - Philip Pullman
Any of you who have known me any amount of time, know that he meant the world to me. I love all my animals, but my cats are my heart. Wawa was a rescue from a farm in Mississippi, where he had been shot. Some of you who have been around since the old days of LiveJournal will even remember when I caught him and brought him home. Befriended him with hotdogs. So many people in the community came together to help support efforts for his rescue and vet care.
He went on to become a therapy cat and Emotional Support Animal. He helped me through the most difficult moments in my life. He has been a constant source of happiness and laughs, always talkative with a wide range of vocals. Many of you over the years heard him, whether we were on the phone or playing video games with voice chat, and especially when I started streaming. He was our official gaming and raiding cat, always wishing good luck meows on big boss fights.
Everyone who met him loved him. Even people who didn't like cats. He changed the minds of many people about cats. He touched the lives of many. I owe a special thanks to Sherry and Marshall, and to Brian, for when you fostered him temporarily when we were in bad living situations. You helped keep our family together and gave us hope when we most needed it. I am eternally grateful to you all.
Wawa had been struggling on and off with health problems over the past few years, mostly GI and thyroid stuff. Every time I took him in for a new senior exam and bloodwork, I feared the worst. But the vets always remarked he was the healthiest elderly cat they had ever seen, besides the more minor problems he had.
He had his recent checkup a month ago and everything looked and sounded fine, besides weight loss. We had been struggling with keeping weight on him, just something that happens with geriatric animals after certain point. He was on a special diet later in life and medication to help.
Wawa had been improving and able to eat more solid foods again, and it gave me some hope that we'd get weight back on him and he'd be okay and I would be blessed with another year or more of time with him.
His mind and his soul were always willing, but his little body just decided it was time. He passed away safe at home, surrounded with love and comfort. Wawa is in a better place now, free and whole in spirit.
He will always be with us. Energy cannot be lost. It simply changes forms.
Thank you for everything. We love you. Rest easy now my little Wah-ling.
-------
" We'll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves; we'll be falling in the raindrops and blowing in the fresh breeze; we'll be glittering in the dew under the stars and the moon . . . " - Philip Pullman
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Another Dog So Soon?
Something I feel I should say for those who don't know me well enough. Some might look at this as me playing "musical puppies" and think it callous of me. I want it to be understood I don't make any of these decisions lightly. My animals are my family. In the case of these dogs I am evaluating and "trying out" for lack of better phrasing, I get just as attached to them as I am to my animals that have been lifelong companions.
The difference in the end however is that I can't let those emotions rule my judgement, if I know that animal is not a good fit for the work I need it to be able to do. I love and respect the animals. I can't force them to be something they are not. I need a very special type of dog, with a very special personality and abilities to adapt to things that most dogs would want to avoid. I need a special dog that will ignore all those pressures and just enjoy working with me and going places with me as my partner.
Assistance dogs are considered medical equipment, not pets. Realistically I need to look at it that way and remind myself I can't keep them all, as attached as I get to them through this process of attempting to owner train my new service dog partner. It makes letting them go that much harder.
Even if it doesn't work out, I always make sure the dog is going to a good, responsible home, and I keep in touch with and follow up to be sure everything works out. The same as I have always done for any animals I have rescued and fostered over the years.
I have seen too many people who owner train use dogs that really should not be working any form of public access, for one reason or another. It is not fair to the dog to try and force it to be something it is not. Doing so would set a bad example on me as a trainer, and be a poor representation of the assistance dog communities as a whole. That is why I am being as selective as I am. Because it is the right thing to do, and it is necessary to ensure my dog is not a liability in public.
