Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Remember Me Thursday

That is quite a mouthful of a blog post title. But, it's all for good reason.

We're going to start today with the last part of that title. Today is indeed Remember Me Thursday. The Remember Me ThursdayⓇ website says it best:

"Remember Me ThursdayⓇ is a global awareness campaign uniting individuals and pet adoption organizations around the world as an unstoppable, integrated voice for orphan pets to live in forever homes, not die waiting for them."

According to the Remember Me ThursdayⓇ website, in 2016, those who used the tags #RememberMeThursday and #RememberTheRescue reached over 340 million people on social media. That is 340 million people being reminded of all of the beautiful animals waiting for their chance to be loved in a home of their very own. This year, we know we are not the only ones who hope that we can spread this message to even more people.

And so today, we are joining so many others in remembering and spreading the word about all of the animals in shelters and rescues who deserve their forever home. Anyone and everyone can spread the word, anywhere and everywhere you can. Use the tags #RememberMeThursday and #RememberTheRescue on social media, and light up the internet for all of the deserving, loving animals in the shelter and rescue system. These sweet critters cannot speak for themselves, but we can speak for them.

This year, you can post a photo of your rescue pet on Twitter or Instagram, using the tags #RememberMeThursday and #RememberTheRescue, and be entered to win funds, food, and toys for a shelter or rescue of your choice. You can also upload a photo directly to the Remember Me ThursdayⓇ website. This is just one way that you and your own rescue pet can assist cats and pups awaiting their forever homes, so do be sure to visit the website and spread the word!

Last year on Remember Me Thursday, we shared this doodle:

This year, we sort of redid that doodle, but with just a bit of a different twist on it. Here's this year's version:

Just like we mentioned last time around, our doodles often have a story to go with them, even if they are unvoiced or living solely in this human's head. Just as with last year's doodle, the story here of course ends with this little kitty going to its forever home with this little angel. On this Remember Me Thursday, we pray and spread the word in hopes that the same happy ending will happen for all furbabies awaiting their forever homes.

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The next part of this post is dedicated to the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, hosted by the handsome Angel Sammy and Teddy.

This week brings us to the letter P. As many of you know, our poems are inspired by our online friends. This week, our poem is inspired by and is in honor of a sweet little lady cat who just gained her wings on Monday. This one's for you, Phoebe.

Phoebe the Princess

 

 Surely you know Phoebe.

She is, after all, royalty.

In this particular instance,

Phoebe is a beautiful Princess.

Phoebe the Princess reigns from her throne,

And all over the world her dear name is known.

While some kings and queens rule with an iron fist,

Phoebe the Princess will instead blow you a sweet kiss.

She is compassionate and kind,

And sophisticated and refined.

She wears upon her head a most deserved crown,

And for her greatness Phoebe the Princess will forever be renowned.

Phoebe will always be there for her people.

All you must do is look up and you will see her grand steeple.

After all, she is Princess of a land far up high.

She is Phoebe, Princess of the Kingdom in the Sky.

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Now, of course, Thimble wants her time to shine.

Isn't Thimble so nice and shiny? Thimble just loves snapping glamour shots like this. And Thimble is very thankful for her glamorous, sunny life. So, she is of course entering Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Thimble and all of us here are thankful for so much in our lives. We are thankful for each other, for our home, for the food in our bowls, for family, and of course for friends like you.

We also want to add that we are thankful for our wonderful veterinarians and for the care they give us. That being said, we thought we'd share that Astrid went to see our veterinarian yesterday. Some of you might remember how, nearly two years ago now, a growth showed up on one of the paw pads of Astrid's right rear foot. It was found to be benign, and to be a type of tumor called a histiocytoma, which often will ultimately go away on its own. Given the tricky location, Astrid's veterinarian recommended that we wait and see if it would go away on its own rather than jump right to surgery. We waited it out, always putting a protective boot on that foot when Astrid went outside. Finally, after a few months, the tumor did indeed go away. But, now it's back, and with a vengeance.

My sister (Astrid's "other Mom") and myself feel terrible, as we got bold and began putting Astrid's protective boot on less frequently, given that the tumor was seemingly gone. Well, that was a bad idea, and the tumor came back last weekend after she hardly wore her boot at all, including on walks outdoors on rough concrete. That was far too bold of a move on our part, and now poor Astrid's apparently hidden tumor has made a nasty recurrence.

This time around, the veterinarian has indeed deemed that it would simply be best to remove the tumor, especially given that it doesn't seem to have any intention to go away and stay away. A fine needle aspirate was done while we were at the appointment, in hopes to for sure rule out anything especially troublesome. The tumor's cells weren't cooperating all that well, though, and while the veterinarian is still guessing that it is simply a benign tumor, we will be sending it out for biopsy after it is removed.

Astrid's surgery will be on Tuesday, October 10th. In addition to the tumor removal, Astrid will also have a simple dental cleaning that day to remove some small amounts of plaque, since she will already be under anesthesia. We are hoping for a safe and sound surgery, but if you have any barks, purrs, and prayers to spare, Astrid and all of us would certainly appreciate them.

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We think that just about wraps up this lengthy post. If you've made it this far, kudos to you! Happy Thursday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Do you have kitties or pups who require separate feedings? This can occur if certain furbabies are on different diets, or if they require different amounts of food, such as if one is on a weight loss diet. While it is not always easy to do separate feedings, it is still often doable with at least a little work. For example, some cats who are more agile can be fed on an elevated surface, such as a counter or shelf, where other cats or even dogs cannot reach. In other cases, such as if you have a small cat or dog and a larger cat or dog, you can fabricate a box or other area with a small opening where the smaller furbaby can enter and eat without interference from the other, larger furbaby. Then there are times when when feeding in separate rooms might need to be attempted. This version often works best if feedings are scheduled, and during those times the furbabies are placed in different rooms while each of them eats their diet as needed. Though not always easy, there are methods that can be attempted for feeding furbabies on different diets, so don't lose hope if this is something your furbabies require.