Aunt Bee, the crazy old cat lady

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Cindy

Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee.

Today, I was thinking about Aunt Bee, Frances Bavier, from “The Andy Griffith Show.”

After that show and a few other acting gigs, Bavier retired from show business in 1972 and moved to the picturesque little town of Siler City, North Carolina.

I tell you this because Brian and I lived in North Carolina at the time of her death and our local paper had a pretty huge write-up about her. The article stated that she had a reputation for being a difficult actress and apparently even had a few run-ins with Andy Griffith on the set. (Griffith said later that about 4 months before she died, she called him to apologize.) The story also said that when Bavier moved to North Carolina, she became quite a recluse. I read that Ron Howard came to visit once and she wouldn’t let him into her house.

Well, when she died in 1989, she left her estate to numerous local charities. It was also discovered that she left behind 15 cats.

It is the 15 cats that made me think of her. You see, we are now a four cat family (unless someone steps forward to take the newest addition, Charlie).

So I thought of Aunt Bee and her 15 cats today because we brought Charlie into the house. She is so cute and she is absolutely fearless! Sam Dog loves her and I hope he doesn’t eat her! The other cats aren’t real sure what they think, yet.

So, Aunt Bee died and her house stank like cats gone wild and everyone referred to her as “the crazy old cat lady.”

This is not me. No way. Nuh uh.

Here are a few pictures last weekend of our critters:

Sam and Charlie.

Sam is in bed with Brian. Where am I supposed to sleep?

We bought a new bed for Sam. (See photo above). Grace likes it, too.

We bought a new bed for Sam, and he likes it okay, just not for sleeping in. He'd rather sleep in our bed. Grace, on the other hand, thinks Sam's bed is pretty cool.

Tink is sleeping in a basket on the shelf above my computer.

Tess, previously known as "the baby," doesn't like the new kitten.

Tess, known as "the baby," doesn't like the new kitten. I think she may worry that she'll lose her coveted status.

For the love of Sam Dog

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Cindy

An update on Sam Dog, you ask? Sure! My life certainly revolves around him so why not share the love?

As most of you know, Sam, is our pit bull mix rescue dog that came to us about six months ago. We really struggled with whether or not we should keep him, knowing the responsibility attached to such a decision. And, you all know that we did, indeed, bring him into the family fold.

This morning I went to town (that means Charleston) to buy Sam some new toys at Pet Smart. I couldn’t wait any longer to make this trip as he is out of toys! If any of you out there in cyber space have a big pit bull mixed breed dog that suffers from separation anxiety, you know what I mean! Being out of dog toys at my house is very dangerous!

Since Sam can destroy most “indestructible” toys in a matter of minutes, I had spent hours on Pet Smart’s website reading customer reviews of the different products, ruled out the majority of them and made a list of only the ones that customers said their toy destroyer dogs could not destroy!

I bought a container of snacks and squeeze cheese to stuff the stuffable toys with treats. Supposedly, this can keep him occupied for hours. I also bought a container of bitter grapefruit spray to spray on every piece of furniture in my house!

I spent $158.00 on this handful of "indestructible" toys. Tink, our boy tabby looks on, agog at everything we bought for Sam!

I should tell you that Sam is, mostly, a sweetheart when we are at home. We do often have to scold him for tormenting the cats. And he wakes us up several times each night ,whether it is when he is climbing in and out of our bed or when he barks cause he hears his girlfriend, Princess, (the neighbor’s new rescue spaniel) escaping from her enclosure.

Except for that, and destroying our house and costing us a fortune at the vet and pet store, he is a good dog!

: I spent $158.00 on this handful of “indestructible” toys. Tink, our boy tabby looks on, agog at everything we bought for Sam!

: This is our handmade Amish rocker.

: Sam pulled up the sticky vinyl tiles in our sunroom. We want to change them, anyway.

: Sam has chewed all four dining room chairs.

: This is the livingroom recliner. It was the first piece of furniture destroyed and is now known as “Sam’s chair.”

: This is the coffee table that Brian built.

: This is our couch.

: This is one of two lampshades in our bedroom that have been smashed.

: This is the dresser in the master bedroom.

: The other area rug has been thrown out. This one is in better shape!

: The vet’s office loves Sam! His neutering surgery was a success and he weighs just shy of 60 pounds!

Sam goes fishing

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Cindy

I guess I’m not surprised at the number of people that ask for an update on Sam, our rescue dog. He makes a good story. And, of course, the people that have actually met him think he’s wonderful.

I’ve read a lot about pit bulls since Sam came into our lives. And, I’ve asked questions to experts about their behavior and how to train them. A few of those sites have looked at Sam’s picture and the general consensus is that he has some Lab in him, which may explain his penchant for chewing all things large and small.

I could tell you that he is the perfect dog. But, hmmm, let’s see. Just today I came home from work to discover that he had discovered how to open the door to the sun room where he ate my favorite garden gloves. And, he pulled more stuffing out of HIS chair and scattered it across the floor for me to clean up! But, today was a good day!

Here are a few recent pictures: