Hi guys,

Events are moving at a rapid pace around here. My home is pretty much stripped of all furnishings. I have a little corner in the living room where I live currently. I share this little corner including my California king size bed with my beloved dog, And three cats during the day and three more at night! Sometimes the cat restraints are so tight I can’t even turn over. So I give up, I give in, and I move to my recliner where the only cats to join me there are Pigeon and Molly.

I don’t know if any of you have ever heard of emotional diarrhea, but apparently that’s what Molly has now. Ever since the demolition of the bedroom the patio and the kitchen has begun she’s had diarrhea. I’ve treated her with my special remedy that normally cures diarrhea in five days But not this time. She’s been to the vet multiple times since I’ve logged in last. They’ve also tried to stop it. It’s finally been determined that since this is not a health issue this is a stress issue the only thing that’s going to stop it is to stop all the traffic going in and out of the house.

PITA A few weeks ago said to heck with all this noise and disappeared for a week. I was frantic I was looking everywhere for him. I had posters up thanks to new book by Dusty Rainbolt, called Finding Your Lost Cat- I did just that. And I found him. It’s been crazy around here.

Adding to the stress is it’s coming onto the anniversary of when I lost Mike. October 14 one year ago is when they dismissed him from the hospital, and placed him on Home

Hospice care. Everyone keeps telling me the first year is the most difficult Unfortunately they’re proving right. I have taken down all the photos that were on my refrigerator. So right now, the refrigerator is bare except for about three cat magnets. Kota has been my rock throughout the process, and God has been my Salvation.

Yesterday while I was doing errands, I decided to stop at Red Robin to grab something to eat. It was our favorite place to go to get a great hamburger. I thought I could handle it. I thought I could sit there in the booth, and enjoy my meal but I found myself breaking down. I was so embarrassed, with my head down, so nobody could see my tears I sought out the waiter, who thankfully was in a private part of the restaurant at the time. I told him I was sorry, but I didn’t think I could do this. That I had to go and then I quickly explained why. I took my money out of my pocket to pay for my meal, and he told me to put my money away the meal was on them. I didn’t even thank him! I just scurried out of that restaurant. As I was coming across the parking lot, I wasn’t even close to the truck. I could hear Kota barking, whining and scratching to get to me. I wasn’t making a sound but somehow he is so in-tuned to me he knew. Incredible dog that he is. He hardly ever barks when he’s in the truck.

I had to stop at Home Depot and pick up some supplies. I put his service dog in training vest on, The vest also says in bold letters “ Please DO NOT PET”. When I was checking out, there was a dog in the other the line barking at him. I told him to “Leave It!” That’s his command to just ignore whatever is taking place at the time. So he settled.

Suddenly this woman appears, and she is getting uncomfortably close to him. I told her please don’t pet him She replied oh I’m not! And then all of a sudden she’s right by his head and she’s tapping her side of her hip. And she’s whispering to him, over and over again (while the dog is still barking) “Is that a toy? Is that a toy? Do you want to get that toy? Do you do you?“

I was so stunned that at first I just looked at her. I didn’t jump in and defend my dog right away. I was so baffled that somebody would do that to a dog wearing a vest that said service dog in training please do not pet! God forgive me but I finally looked at her and I said ”Lady, if you don’t get away from my dog RIGHT NOW, I swear I am going to kick you square in the ass!“ The look on her face was priceless. She quickly moved away. Who does that? Who is so brainless that they would do that? I guess my patience had reached the end of my rope. But he is so quick to defend me, I finally had the opportunity to return the favor. Through it all, bless his heart, he only barked one time when she was egging him on

Well next week the new beginning starts they’re going to be rebuilding my bedroom. They have to put in new walls and they have to make them thicker than before because they need something to support the ceiling before they start to fix the ceiling The house has really turned into a nightmare as far as what’s wrong with it and how much effort it’s going to take to get it fixed. They’re also bringing in the new heater and setting it up so that it will heat the whole house instead of just one room. So the stress isn’t over yet and won’t be for quite some time but it’s going to be so nice when it’s all done. I’m just hoping my cats are going to be able to handle it all.

barking