Fence

The cats check out the new fence!

Maxine Sees the Bay

Cricket Gets Beat at Scrabble

Max Loves Frosty Paws

Felix Likes Goat Cheese

My First Goat Cheese

Windy Day at the Beach

Lets Play!

To the Freezer

Making Frosty Paws

Maxine Enjoys Yellow Roses

Max Takes a Poop

Getting Ready for Primer

Chillin

Poor Roasting Cricket

Sometimes it gets so hot by the heater! Cricket started off up on the pillows and keeps kind of melting down the couch.

Cricket Gets Stuck Under the Deck

But is bribed out with good old fashioned stinky cat food!

Koof Montage

Toothless Wonder

Relaxing in the Backyard

In Loving Memory of Steinway

Written by Alycia Shilton-Lloyd

We've had Steinway about 8.5 years - and the rescue told us he was 4 when we rescued him.  We got Steinway because we'd always wanted 2 dogs, and when I became pregnant, I knew that our diva baby girl Ellie would need to get used to the idea of "sharing."  She like Steinway just fine, but it took over a month for her to let him even get up on a the couch without growling at him.  But that was cool with Stein - he was crate trained and he LOVED his crate.  It was his and only his - no one else was allowed in (not Ellie, not visiting dogs, and not even our son, when he began crawling.)  We eventually figured out that Steinway was part jindo - a Korean breed known for being neat, fastidious, and having a rather cat-like independent streak.  Steinway loved us, but was never one for cuddling.  He liked to be in the same room with you, and would let you rub his belly if you gently approached him and began to pet him (he would till jump a little...we think he may have been beaten by a puppy.)  But he was never an active cuddler - the only time he ever got on the bed with me was the night Dave took Ellie in to the vet with what we soon discovered was terminal cancer.  Steinway was also scared of loud noises, but would prefer hiding out between the bed and the wall, or under Dave's feet at his desk, than any sort of cuddling.

Stein listened well, but wasn't super bright, and probably had a little bit of pit bull in him...you could see it in the heaviness of his brow around the eyes...and he was known for getting fixated on prey like cats or raccoons.  He never attacked or even growled at another dog (but would often need to smell a small dog on a leash just to be sure it was not actually a cat) and was gentle and still with children, although he would always leave as a graciously as possible once the pets and hugs and flopping around on top of him appeared to slow down.  And go to his crate, of course.

Steinway also viciously hated horses and cattle (and trembled with rage - and knowledge that he HAD to be good - when we took him once to the town Fourth of July parade with both creatures in it.)  On his doggy adventures with his walking pack up in the Oakland hills he would occasionally - maybe once a year, see a deer and take after it for miles.  He never caught it, and was good enough the rest of the time that our walker would eventually trust him off leash again.  He did try to catch a horse, once, and was kicked in the face for his trouble.  But, like the time he chased a cat across the street and got hit, or the time he tried to get a raccoon over the fence and impaled a paw, he seemed to have 9 lives and come out fine, needing only a day or two to recover.  He was healthy and hale but for the past few months, when two bouts of pancreatitis gave us the only indication that time may be catching up with him.  However, two weeks ago his back leg suddenly swelled up and he began to limp.  The vet thought it was simply a trauma, but when it didn't resolve by the Monday  and it became apparent that he was still in so much pain, we brought him back in and discovered he had a tumor blocking the vessels in his leg.  And, unfortunately, that tumor was only one of many...which had infiltrated his stomach and kidney.  When we discovered that his pain would only increase, and that his kidneys would soon fail irrecoverably, we made the decision to help him end his suffering and euthanize him.  Dylan, Dave, and I spent a last gentle hour with him, and I could tell he was hurting because he wanted to cuddle, which he normally would prefer not to do.  Dave stayed with him as he was sedated and eventually passed away.

Here is a picture from our trip to Tahoe over Christmas.  In retrospect, we realize he was probably already starting to feel in pain, as you'll note his tail wasn't up in usual "happy in the snow" manner.  But we are thankful that he was part of our life for so long.

Surfs Up

Cricket Enjoys the New Siding

Friends For Now

Friday Means Laundry

Koof Enjoys the New Windows

Max Checks Out the Mavericks at HMB

Sunning While Waiting for New Windows

Gato Hot Tub

Koof, Laundry and Sun