| Living Forever in our Hearts..... |
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| Shank 1976-2002 |
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| Minky 1988-2002 |
| Shank was born in the year of the bicentennial, 1976, to a horse breeder in Southern Florida. When we purchased Shank in 1991, he had already had a long and distinguished career. Shank started life as a racehorse; he was a registered thoroughbred whose grandfather was the noble Raise a Native and whose great-grandfather was the incomparable Native Dancer. Shank came off the track as a four-year-old, having raced for three years. He went through a succession of owners and was shown in hunt-seat as a junior hunter. Shank taught us to ride. He was a packer and as steady as they come. We enjoyed many years of showing hunter/jumper with him and even more years trail riding through the miles of trails in South Park, PA. When Shank passed away in 2002 at the age of 26, he was retired and living on a farm in Newburgh, IN. It was there in the green fields, with his lady friends around him, that he passed away. Shank, with his best friend Minnie Pearl beside him, waits for us at the Rainbow Bridge. See a picture of Shank and Minnie Pearl. |
| "Close your eyes and stick out your hands", Rick said. Not knowing what to expect, I did as he asked and to my surprise, he gently handed me a tiny, black kitten. The neighbor children had found Minky in the nearby woods and brought her to Rick. She was weak and could not hold her little wobbly head up. We fed her Enfamil and got her to the veterinarian's office as soon as we could. She suffered from a respiratory infection and numerous parasites, but from that sickly beginning, Minky matured into a strong, beautiful cat. Shunning other people and animals, Minky was truely my cat. She answered to her name and would come running from anywhere when I called. When we would get home from work at night, Minky would hear the garage door going up and run to meet us at the basement doors. There was no aloofness about her at all, and she preferred to spend her evenings cuddled up with me on the couch or carrying around her favorite toy, "Goodbaby", which was simply a small clump of pine needles from an artificial Christmas tree. Minky passed away in December of 2002, four months before her 15th birthday. We buried her with her Goodbaby. |
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| Shelby 1990-2006 |
| In 1990, while Rick and I were still living in Pittsburgh, our friend, Cathy Thomas, came to visit from her home in Shelby, North Carolina. She brought with her a tiny, six-week-old kitten who stayed behind when Cathy went home! Shelby became Rick's cat - seldom was there a night when Rick didn't have Shelby, and later BJ alongside her, curled up on his lap while he sat in his recliner. Shelby helped train all the dogs; both Jake and BJ have 'testament' of her training methods (in the form of scars on their noses)! Shelby lived to the ripe old age of 16.5 and, for the first time in 18 years, our house feels empty without a cat. |