So last year, my dear friend Amy found out she was pregnant. Shortly after, her mother was diagnosed with throat cancer in the 3rd and 4th stages. While Amy was going to the doctor's for her pregnancy, her mother was going to the doctors of various kinds for chemo and radiation therapy. It was a long fight that year that included her mother unable to talk for a while. The tumors shrank and all was well. Recently, she went in for a follow up and was told that it's not all gone and that there is possibility that it has spread. So starts another round of chemo and probable surgery to remove her voicebox and lymph nodes at the end of it. This is just one story of how cancer can completely change a life. She is battling this with everything she has and I admire and respect her for that.
On the flip side, there have been a few people in my life or the lives of my friends who did not win the battle. Another recent one was the long time manager of Pet Supplies Plus. He fought his cancer for years and I saw a bit of it first hand. I saw his determination to keep going and fighting. I saw how tired he was all the time because he continued to work while undergoing treatments. I remember working that last day and knowing that something happened but being scared to ask because I didn't want to find out something bad and then have to deal with customers on a Saturday night.
There have been others in my life that have lost the fight. I just don't remember it as well because it was a while ago, I was young and wasn't told as much about it then. But these are the stories and experiences that I keep in the back of my head a lot. These people and the countless others that have had similar situations are the reason why I made the decision to participate in Relay for Life this year. It's something I have always wanted to do. I now have an opportunity to do so and have become a team captain for the Ann Arbor Relay for Life. At the end of the year, when I look back on what I have accomplished this year, this will be near the top of the list. So I ask you to help me in this fight. If you are interested in being part of the team, let me know. Interested in donating, click here to donate. Anything you decide to do will be very appreciated and every little bit helps.
Showing posts with label pet supplies plus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pet supplies plus. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Further introductions
Since I will be mentioning my cats fairly often on here, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce them to everybody. I have three...
Midnight is originally Hassaun's cat, and he started it all for us. We often refer to him as Hassaun's son.
He came to Hassaun when we were at Pet Supplies Plus, where I worked at the time, getting food for his rats. It was the day before Halloween, which I have always found interesting, since he is a black cat. The lady in line ahead of us was asking the cashier if she knew of anything she could do with this cat she found by the dumpster at her work and had in her car at that moment. Hassaun had been wanting to get a cat for a while so we jumped in and said we would take a look. We went home with this scared little black thing. He has grown into a strong beautiful black cat who knows he is the ruler of the kingdom and is definitely the boss when it comes to his brothers. Those first few weeks were very rough as he got used to being inside and quickly poked, prodded and snipped.
The second one came to us through a friend's sister. The friend worked at Pet Supplies Plus with me (are you noticing a trend yet?) and was then working at a vet's office as part of her schooling. She and her sister had taken in this little kitten who had no mom and needed to be bottle fed. I met him when he was a matter of weeks old and immediately fell in love. By the time he was like 8 or 9 weeks old, I had played with the idea of adopting him with Hassaun. We went over to her house, and fell even more in love with his adorable little face. At the time, he was being called Munchkin but by the time we had driven home with him, his name had been changed to Patches.
He is by far the biggest trouble maker of the three. He gets into everything and anything, wants to eat anything and has done many things to get to food. He has chewed holes in canvas bags in an attempt to get to the food that is inside, he has gotten open cheez-it boxes and pulled out the bags. He gets into cabinets and pulls out the cat treats. He is on a constant quest to get the catnip container open. He has broken more than one glass, cutting himself in the process. He has a fascination with chewing cords, and if they are plugged in, even better!
He is my long-haired, green eyed, bigfoot with an antennae for a tail.
The third cat was a complete accident. He came to us in the most unique way of all the stories I have ever heard. We lived in the lowest level of an apartment building on Woodward, between Ihop and Pet Supplies Plus. I remember it was a Friday, as that was one of the few days I almost always closed at work. I was getting ready and Hassaun and I were sitting in the living room talking. Patches was on the table between us and suddenly hissed. Now, the only times he ever has hissed has been when Midnight gets too close while they are getting their wet food, so we both figured something was going on. Sure enough, behind Hassaun's chair, we see this little face staring up at us.
Now, we knew Brian hadn't brought home a cat without telling us so this was a huge surprise. I immediately rounded up Midnight and Patches, throwing them in the bathroom while we tracked down this mysterious, scared little kitten. I had no idea where he came from or if he had anything and I don't keep up with flea stuff for these guys. We finally got a hold of him, which was no easy thing since he was so scared and small and got him in a carrier. Well now what do we do? I called around to a few places before I had to go to work but of course, all the shelters are full. Or closed. So I left for work with him locked in the bathroom with a litter box and food. I didn't want a third cat. I was getting ready to move out and be jobless. I didn't want the added expense at all! He ended up staying in the bathroom for about a week until I was able to have a couple of tests done to make sure he wasn't going to give the other two anything and then let him out to meet them. Patches was NOT happy! He spent about two days hissing, growling and swatting at the kitten before they finally started to play together. I was sold. How could I refuse the little beard and Hitler mustache? I also had a couple people refusing to accept that I wouldn't end up keeping him (Thank you PSP!) Thus, I ended up with Domino, the love child of Midnight and Patches. Midnight's short hair, Patches' coloring. We figured at the time that he was 3-4 months old. We have no idea where he came from. We only figured out that he got in through the window. It had been open a couple inches and he had to have climbed the screen, which popped loose in the top corner, making him fall into our apartment. Really? He broke into our apartment? What is that? Who ever heard of a cat doing that?? No matter, he picked the right one to break into apparently! He is now the most cuddly of the three, probably because he is the most thankful. He has a broken purr-box that you can hear from a few feet away and if you are close to him, he is purring. He sleeps on my head a lot and for some reason likes to gnaw on hair. But he is my lucky one and he lets me force him to be a stuffed animal when I am laying on the couch.
Needless to say, I get a lot of stories out of these guys.
Midnight is originally Hassaun's cat, and he started it all for us. We often refer to him as Hassaun's son.
He came to Hassaun when we were at Pet Supplies Plus, where I worked at the time, getting food for his rats. It was the day before Halloween, which I have always found interesting, since he is a black cat. The lady in line ahead of us was asking the cashier if she knew of anything she could do with this cat she found by the dumpster at her work and had in her car at that moment. Hassaun had been wanting to get a cat for a while so we jumped in and said we would take a look. We went home with this scared little black thing. He has grown into a strong beautiful black cat who knows he is the ruler of the kingdom and is definitely the boss when it comes to his brothers. Those first few weeks were very rough as he got used to being inside and quickly poked, prodded and snipped.
The second one came to us through a friend's sister. The friend worked at Pet Supplies Plus with me (are you noticing a trend yet?) and was then working at a vet's office as part of her schooling. She and her sister had taken in this little kitten who had no mom and needed to be bottle fed. I met him when he was a matter of weeks old and immediately fell in love. By the time he was like 8 or 9 weeks old, I had played with the idea of adopting him with Hassaun. We went over to her house, and fell even more in love with his adorable little face. At the time, he was being called Munchkin but by the time we had driven home with him, his name had been changed to Patches.
He is by far the biggest trouble maker of the three. He gets into everything and anything, wants to eat anything and has done many things to get to food. He has chewed holes in canvas bags in an attempt to get to the food that is inside, he has gotten open cheez-it boxes and pulled out the bags. He gets into cabinets and pulls out the cat treats. He is on a constant quest to get the catnip container open. He has broken more than one glass, cutting himself in the process. He has a fascination with chewing cords, and if they are plugged in, even better!
He is my long-haired, green eyed, bigfoot with an antennae for a tail.
The third cat was a complete accident. He came to us in the most unique way of all the stories I have ever heard. We lived in the lowest level of an apartment building on Woodward, between Ihop and Pet Supplies Plus. I remember it was a Friday, as that was one of the few days I almost always closed at work. I was getting ready and Hassaun and I were sitting in the living room talking. Patches was on the table between us and suddenly hissed. Now, the only times he ever has hissed has been when Midnight gets too close while they are getting their wet food, so we both figured something was going on. Sure enough, behind Hassaun's chair, we see this little face staring up at us.
Now, we knew Brian hadn't brought home a cat without telling us so this was a huge surprise. I immediately rounded up Midnight and Patches, throwing them in the bathroom while we tracked down this mysterious, scared little kitten. I had no idea where he came from or if he had anything and I don't keep up with flea stuff for these guys. We finally got a hold of him, which was no easy thing since he was so scared and small and got him in a carrier. Well now what do we do? I called around to a few places before I had to go to work but of course, all the shelters are full. Or closed. So I left for work with him locked in the bathroom with a litter box and food. I didn't want a third cat. I was getting ready to move out and be jobless. I didn't want the added expense at all! He ended up staying in the bathroom for about a week until I was able to have a couple of tests done to make sure he wasn't going to give the other two anything and then let him out to meet them. Patches was NOT happy! He spent about two days hissing, growling and swatting at the kitten before they finally started to play together. I was sold. How could I refuse the little beard and Hitler mustache? I also had a couple people refusing to accept that I wouldn't end up keeping him (Thank you PSP!) Thus, I ended up with Domino, the love child of Midnight and Patches. Midnight's short hair, Patches' coloring. We figured at the time that he was 3-4 months old. We have no idea where he came from. We only figured out that he got in through the window. It had been open a couple inches and he had to have climbed the screen, which popped loose in the top corner, making him fall into our apartment. Really? He broke into our apartment? What is that? Who ever heard of a cat doing that?? No matter, he picked the right one to break into apparently! He is now the most cuddly of the three, probably because he is the most thankful. He has a broken purr-box that you can hear from a few feet away and if you are close to him, he is purring. He sleeps on my head a lot and for some reason likes to gnaw on hair. But he is my lucky one and he lets me force him to be a stuffed animal when I am laying on the couch.
Needless to say, I get a lot of stories out of these guys.
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