Pets

Originally Posted 4/1/25

Photo of a small child and a black and white Australian Shepherd dog

A bit of an Intro

This post is apart of an idea/ challenge put forth by the April Cools' Club. The idea is pretty simple: blog about something you normally wouldn't. This could simply be changing the format a bit, or talking about something your audience may not expect from you.

Honestly, when I first learned about this from Nora Codes' Post, I thought it was a great idea! But I had a problem - I didn't know what would be different for me? I've setup this site to talk about sort of anything, so what would be something that I didn't normally talk about? I couldn't even just change formats as I've done a decent amount of videos/ podcasting already. I asked my fiance their thoughts, and they came up with this idea - talk about my pets. I thought that was a great idea, as it's probably not something I would've spoken about on my own. So, enjoy!

A History of my Pets

Rocky

Photo of a small child and a black and white Australian Shepherd dog Photo of a puppy version of Rocky, a black and white Austrlian Shepherd dog, laying on a dog bed

Rocky is the first pet I remember ever having. The first photo on the left is labeled as my brother and Rocky, but I don't quite think the timeline matches for that. I think it's a photo of me and Rocky. Rocky was an Australian Shepherd that my parents had already, I believe, when I was first born. He lived with us for a while, but eventually ended up going to live with the neighbor of one of my grandparents. Any time we'd go over to visit my grandparents, we'd often go next door and ask if we could play with Rocky for a bit. It was always a really nice time. Rocky also was a bit unique because he had his full tail - most of the time Australian Shepherds get their tails clipped, but not him. I'd love to own another Australian Shepherd one day.

Sadie

The next pet I remember having is Sadie. She was the family's dog, and unfortunately I don't remember too much more, other than she was a great dog. We buried her on my parents property under one of our trees I believe.

Photo of a black and white cat laying on top of a black lab, which is laying on the floor.

Boots

Photo of a black and white kitten in a small litter box Photo of a black and white cat laying down in a cat loaf position

I honestly don't remember who came first - Sadie or Boots. Boots, named after how his paws looked like he was wearing shoes, was a rescuse. We got him as a kitten from a family friend of ours who had barn cats. If I remember correctly he had a lot of fleas and ear mites when we first got him, but luckily with some medicine he was quickly good as new! He passed away a few years ago at this point, but honeestly he was a fantastic cat. Honestly no complaints, he was so chill and would just sort of let you pick him up and move him around.

Lucky

Lucky is still around, and the dog my family got after Sadie passed away. They've had her since she was a puppy, and she's getting up there in age now. She still always seems so happy though - one time she broke her tail from wagging it too hard. Another sort of fun story is my parents live in a sort of rural area, and so Lucky will sometimes roam to neighbors houses. One of our neighbors has an airbnb, and some of the guests have written about how friendly Lucky is to them.

Photo of a puppy laying down on a tile floor. The dog is largely light brown, with spots of dark brown, and a white underbelly Photo of a dog that's largely light brown, with spots of dark brown, standing in a field

Simon

Photo of a cat laying in a cat hammock that attaches to the window. The cat is largely white, with some gray on top

Simon is the first pet that I remember truly being mine - the rest were always pets my family had growing up. I did have one cat slightly before Simon, however I don't really remember their name as I didn't have them for very long. Simon was both fantastic and the worst cat I've ever had. He was great because he would just cuddle, and also go on adventures. I'd take him outside on a leash, or hammocking with me and friends, and it was great! At the same time, Simon liked to get into everything. This was a problem given I had him in a very small living arrangement. I lived in a suite with 3 other roommates in basically off campus housing while in College. Luckily my roommates were all pretty chill with him, but Simon always had a lot of energy. He'd get into wires, or one time I woke up and he had knocked over our garbage can in the middle of the night. I unfortunately had to end up giving Simon back to the shelter after I ended up moving in with someone who already had cats, and their cats and Simon kept getting into fights. I'd come back from classes and Simon would have fresh cuts on him. My only options really were to give him back or lock him in my room, but given he liked to have room to move around and would constantly get into things when he was bored, that wasn't really a good fit. It sucked too because both Simon and my other roommates cats equally started the fights, so it wasn't even like Simon was the innocent one here.

Thor

Thor is my most recent cat, and I unfortunately had to put him down a year or two ago at this point. I got him from a shelter a little while after Simon. I wanted to try again with having a cat of my own, one that was maybe more chill. Thor was absolutely the exact cat I needed - he was the chillest cat I've ever known. He was completely fine (and often seemed to only want to) laying on the bed all day. He was fine being left in my room while I was at college and just vibing. I introduced him to my roommates cats a few times, or tried bringing him outside, but honestly, he seemed happiest and most content just chilling inside.

He was with me when I eventually left Plattsburgh and headed to Vermont. He got so used to my routine, that when I got home he'd greet me at the door, follow me to the bedroom where I'd take off my work clothes, then follow me back out to the living room where I'd often lay down on the couch. He knew then that he could lay down on top of me, and often we'd just nap there together. He was an absolutely amazing and fantastic cat.

I had him with me when I met and eventually moved in with my now fiance, Michelle. Michelle has her own dog Cooper, and while Cooper couldn't care less about Thor, Thor was absolutely terrified of Cooper. We introduced them as slowly as we could, and made sure Thor had his own spaces he could retreat to if he needed, but with time, he was slowly starting to adjust to having Cooper around.

I unfortunately had to put Thor down though once he got... I forget the exact illness. But it was a blockage in his urethra I believe. It's apparently common for male cats, and extremely painful. Once they get it, it's just a matter of time of when it'll happen again, even if the vets surgically remove the blockage, or try other solutions. Not only is this extremely painful for cats, but also very stressful given the cat is out of its norm at the vets office, around people it doesn't know. Upon hearing this news I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep caring for Thor - I didn't want to keep putting him through this. I also wouldn't be able to afford repeated vet visits. They had also mentioned this blockage can be caused by stress, and I know Cooper stressed him out. I tried reaching out to the local shelter about options, but they didn't want to take him, as they felt they also would not be able to find a new home for him, given most people looking to adopt wouldn't want to be signing on for the financial needs required for him. So, with all of that, I ended up deciding to have him put down.

I miss him dearly, and haven't gotten a new cat since. We don't really have the space or money for a cat at the moment, and so there's just been a sort of void left by Thor. I actually wrote a whole post about Thor on Cohost that I've copied over here. You can read that post here.

Photo of a brown cat with black stripes laying in a sun beam on a carpeted floor Photo of a brown cat with black stripes and a namtag saying Thor sitting up on a bed Photo of a brown cat with black stripes laying down on my chest and side

Cooper

photo of a black lab sitting down in the snow

Technically my Fiance's dog, Cooper is the only pet we have at the moment. He's a bit of a doofus, but overall a good dog. He's a bit of a weird dog though - when we go someplace new, instead of wanting to pee everywhere he wants to poop. Another oddity, he will drink water until he's sick. I've never seen a dog drink that much before, but it's happened a few times where we try to give him unlimited access to water and he ends up just throwing it up. It's kind of wild how much he just loves water. He listens extremely well though and honestly just wants attention.

A History of my Pets

Rocky

Photo of a small child and a black and white Australian Shepherd dog Photo of a puppy version of Rocky, a black and white Austrlian Shepherd dog, laying on a dog bed

Rocky is the first pet I remember ever having. The first photo is labeled as my brother and Rocky, but I don't quite think the timeline matches for that. I think it's a photo of me and Rocky. Rocky was an Australian Shepherd that my parents had already, I believe, when I was first born. He lived with us for a while, but eventually ended up going to live with the neighbor of one of my grandparents. Any time we'd go over to visit my grandparents, we'd often go next door and ask if we could play with Rocky for a bit. It was always a really nice time. Rocky also was a bit unique because he had his full tail - most of the time Australian Shepherds get their tails clipped, but not him. I'd love to own another Australian Shepherd one day.

Sadie

Photo of a black and white cat laying on top of a black lab, which is laying on the floor.

The next pet I remember having is Sadie. She was the family's dog, and unfortunately I don't remember too much more, other than she was a great dog. We buried her on my parents property under one of our trees I believe.

Boots

Photo of a black and white kitten in a small litter box Photo of a black and white cat laying down in a cat loaf position

I honestly don't remember who came first - Sadie or Boots. Boots, named after how his paws looked like he was wearing shoes, was a rescuse. We got him as a kitten from a family friend of ours who had barn cats. If I remember correctly he had a lot of fleas and ear mites when we first got him, but luckily with some medicine he was quickly good as new! He passed away a few years ago at this point, but honeestly he was a fantastic cat. Honestly no complaints, he was so chill and would just sort of let you pick him up and move him around.

Lucky

Photo of a puppy laying down on a tile floor. The dog is largely light brown, with spots of dark brown, and a white underbelly Photo of a dog that's largely light brown, with spots of dark brown, standing in a field

Lucky is still around, and the dog my family got after Sadie passed away. They've had her since she was a puppy, and she's getting up there in age now. She still always seems so happy though - one time she broke her tail from wagging it too hard. Another sort of fun story is my parents live in a sort of rural area, and so Lucky will sometimes roam to neighbors houses. One of our neighbors has an airbnb, and some of the guests have written about how friendly Lucky is to them.

Simon

Photo of a cat laying in a cat hammock that attaches to the window. The cat is largely white, with some gray on top

Simon is the first pet that I remember truly being mine - the rest were always pets my family had growing up. I did have one cat slightly before Simon, however I don't really remember their name as I didn't have them for very long. Simon was both fantastic and the worst cat I've ever had. He was great because he would just cuddle, and also go on adventures. I'd take him outside on a leash, or hammocking with me and friends, and it was great! At the same time, Simon liked to get into everything. This was a problem given I had him in a very small living arrangement. I lived in a suite with 3 other roommates in basically off campus housing while in College. Luckily my roommates were all pretty chill with him, but Simon always had a lot of energy. He'd get into wires, or one time I woke up and he had knocked over our garbage can in the middle of the night. I unfortunately had to end up giving Simon back to the shelter after I ended up moving in with someone who already had cats, and their cats and Simon kept getting into fights. I'd come back from classes and Simon would have fresh cuts on him. My only options really were to give him back or lock him in my room, but given he liked to have room to move around and would constantly get into things when he was bored, that wasn't really a good fit. It sucked too because both Simon and my other roommates cats equally started the fights, so it wasn't even like Simon was the innocent one here.

Thor

Photo of a brown cat with black stripes laying in a sun beam on a carpeted floor Photo of a brown cat with black stripes and a namtag saying Thor sitting up on a bed Photo of a brown cat with black stripes laying down on my chest and side

Thor is my most recent cat, and I unfortunately had to put him down a year or two ago at this point. I got him from a shelter a little while after Simon. I wanted to try again with having a cat of my own, one that was maybe more chill. Thor was absolutely the exact cat I needed - he was the chillest cat I've ever known. He was completely fine (and often seemed to only want to) laying on the bed all day. He was fine being left in my room while I was at college and just vibing. I introduced him to my roommates cats a few times, or tried bringing him outside, but honestly, he seemed happiest and most content just chilling inside.

He was with me when I eventually left Plattsburgh and headed to Vermont. He got so used to my routine, that when I got home he'd greet me at the door, follow me to the bedroom where I'd take off my work clothes, then follow me back out to the living room where I'd often lay down on the couch. He knew then that he could lay down on top of me, and often we'd just nap there together. He was an absolutely amazing and fantastic cat.

I had him with me when I met and eventually moved in with my now fiance, Michelle. Michelle has her own dog Cooper, and while Cooper couldn't care less about Thor, Thor was absolutely terrified of Cooper. We introduced them as slowly as we could, and made sure Thor had his own spaces he could retreat to if he needed, but with time, he was slowly starting to adjust to having Cooper around.

I unfortunately had to put Thor down though once he got... I forget the exact illness. But it was a blockage in his urethra I believe. It's apparently common for male cats, and extremely painful. Once they get it, it's just a matter of time of when it'll happen again, even if the vets surgically remove the blockage, or try other solutions. Not only is this extremely painful for cats, but also very stressful given the cat is out of its norm at the vets office, around people it doesn't know. Upon hearing this news I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep caring for Thor - I didn't want to keep putting him through this. I also wouldn't be able to afford repeated vet visits. They had also mentioned this blockage can be caused by stress, and I know Cooper stressed him out. I tried reaching out to the local shelter about options, but they didn't want to take him, as they felt they also would not be able to find a new home for him, given most people looking to adopt wouldn't want to be signing on for the financial needs required for him. So, with all of that, I ended up deciding to have him put down.

I miss him dearly, and haven't gotten a new cat since. We don't really have the space or money for a cat at the moment, and so there's just been a sort of void left by Thor. I actually wrote a whole post about Thor on Cohost that I've copied over here. You can read that post here.

Cooper

photo of a black lab sitting down in the snow

Technically my Fiance's dog, Cooper is the only pet we have at the moment. He's a bit of a doofus, but overall a good dog. He's a bit of a weird dog though - when we go someplace new, instead of wanting to pee everywhere he wants to poop. Another oddity, he will drink water until he's sick. I've never seen a dog drink that much before, but it's happened a few times where we try to give him unlimited access to water and he ends up just throwing it up. It's kind of wild how much he just loves water. He listens extremely well though and honestly just wants attention.