Category Archives: Pets

Belated Thanks

Our cat Scout resting on the bed with her eyes open

It’s been over two months since Scout died and I’ve been remiss in not thanking those who were so helpful during her final week.

First to the veterinary teams who treated her, Laurelhurst Veterinary Hospital (our regular vet) and Northwest Veterinary Specialists (an emergency vet). We’ve been going to Laurelhurst since we moved to Portland over a decade ago, Dr. Abbott is our regular vet and saw Scout when we brought her in after she got sick, while Dr. Ross saw her at the end when it was time to euthanize her. This was our first visit to NVS and Dr. Brown managed Scout’s treatment. Everyone called when the said they would, the two groups communicated with each other and with me, answered my questions and gave advice, and everyone was friendly and supportive. They also sent cards after Scout died signed by those who knew her.

Thanks to cats unknown who contributed the blood for the transfusion that kept Scout alive long enough for her diagnosis to be completed, and let me spend one last day with her and be there when she died. Having cats donate blood is tricky since they have to sedated, and different places have different policies. The blood bank at NVS for example is collected from cats owned by the staff, while the blood bank at DoveLewis is collected from rescue cats they adopt.

Thanks to Apple for their iPhone and TomTom for their navigation app, as one drawback to NVS is that it isn’t close to us and is in an area I’m not familiar with, and I get turned around pretty easily. On the way to pick up Scout after her transfusion, traffic was a mess on the freeways but the little genius woman in the phone put me onto surface streets that were busy but not backed up, and I arrived in good time to get Scout, all without getting lost (and even more stressed).

Thanks to my wife for many reasons. Towards the end when Scout was getting her transfusion, the city inspector was also coming by to inspect our new heater. I had taken the day off work so I could get Scout at a moment’s notice. My wife repeatedly asked if she should stay home too to meet the inspector, since I was visibly upset, but I repeatedly said I’d be fine and she should go. But after she left I started to worry that there would be trouble with Scout’s transfusion and I’d have to leave right away. More than anything, if Scout was going to die, I wanted to be there with her. I started having trouble breathing so I called my wife and she came back home and met with the inspector. She also took care of everything when Scout was euthanized so I didn’t have to deal with anyone in my heartbroken state.

She’s also the reason Scout came into my life in the first place. A dog lover growing up, I fell in love with cats when I met her cat Templeton, and later she suggested we adopt Scout after her friend found a litter of kittens under their house.

And thanks to my black-and-white cat who I dearly miss. I’m close to all my pets but Scout and I were so perfectly matched, and she so completely devoted to me, that I doubt I’ll know a bond like ours ever again.

Rest peacefully, little one.

Our cat Scout resting on the bed with her eyes closed

Twelve

Our cat Scout resting in her heated bed

Scout would have turned twelve today.

This was my view these past twelve years as I edited nearly every image you’ve seen here, Scout in her heated bed, sitting right in front of me. Usually she’d be curled up in the bed, but sometimes she’d watch me as I worked. She was a tiny little thing so if she was laying down she had to stick her head up to reach the top. It didn’t look too comfortable but it always made me laugh.

Oh Scout, you were the best, and I miss you so.

The Eyes of Ellie

The eyes of our dog Ellie

We speak a different language, she and I, but her big brown eyes stare deeply into mine and ask what words cannot.

“Can I have a piece of your pizza?”

Sam & Emma

A close-up view of our cats Sam and Emma snuggling

A shot from last fall of Sam and Emma.

The two are friendly but don’t often cuddle up like this, which is unfortunate since in the six weeks since Scout passed away, the ever-snuggly Sam has been on constant lookout to replace her affections. A lot of the time the two spent together they spent with me, so it’s not so much that he’s spending more time with me but rather that he wants to be up close rather than out on my legs, a favorite Sam spot since he was a wee kitten.

I don’t know if we’ll ever adopt another kitten in the hopes that the two will become close friends, just as he and Scout did five years ago, but in the meantime we’ve tried some commercially available Scout substitutes, such as

  • I Can’t Believe It’s Not Scout
  • Skout
  • Kiss Me I’m Scouttish

but so far none have worked.

For such a tiny little cat, she left a big hole to fill.

One Glum Chum

Our dog Ellie lying on the hardwood floor

I took this picture of Ellie the day after Scout died. Her cheerless disposition is not because she was mourning Scout’s passing, mind you, rather it’s the expression I usually get whenever I raise the camera to my face.

She was bored.

Ellie is happy-go-lucky to the core but I don’t have a lot of pictures that show it.

I love taking pictures of the pets but wish I took more. Certainly having one camera has been a limitation, especially since it is often set up for wildlife photography. But some of the shots I want to take are surprisingly demanding. Since I prefer not to use flash and the light levels are usually low, I like big sensors that work well in these conditions — I’d prefer even bigger than what I have now, but that gets expensive and very limited in options.

Fast lenses are nice, but image stabilization is a must. I want control over depth of field — for many of these shots I want more, not less — and image stabilization gives me more of that control without the cumbersome nature of a tripod.

My current camera, a traditional SLR, is pretty good with these things.

But I also want the camera to be completely silent and as unobtrusive as possible. And I want to shoot without holding the camera to my face, to keep the pets more engaged — and more natural — and articulating LCD screens are best.

The camera needs to be small so it’s readily at hand and easy to move about.

Fast autofocus is good, but accurate focus is better. Especially in low light, and with black fur. Close focus is also required for when the pets are on my lap.

Nothing out there does all of that, but there have been a number of interesting small cameras in the past year from the likes of Fuji and Sony and Olympus that are providing a quality alternative to the traditional SLR. I’ll stick with the SLR for wildlife shots, and maybe for everything else too, who knows.

Just casting my eyes about for now.