Life with Dylan

Category: pets

  • Tiga has a new friend

    Rather than spend our time rescuing Dylan’s stuffed animals from Tiga’s mouth, we decided to get her the next best thing. 

    Tiga loves Mr. Monkey and hasn’t bothered Dylan’s special animals in weeks. I think we solved that problem! 

  • This 5 pound kitten stole my heart

    There is no question that kittens are cute. Some may even say adorable – and our Tiga may be one of the cutest kittens I’ve seen in a long time. Well, I may be a little bias.
    No, it’s true. Tiga is adorable.

    However, Tiga is Dylan’s cat and we each have very different roles when it comes to raising her. Dylan is the playful have fun with me parent and I am the one who sets the rules and says no all the time. Needless to say, I am not the first one Tiga will run to when she wants something. Well, at least until last week I wasn’t.

    This picture was taken last Saturday morning right before we left to have Tiga spayed. I don’t think either one of us knew what to expect, nor did we know how our relationship would quickly change.

    Suddenly I was a mother of two and my baby was having surgery. I quickly forgot about the shoelaces she chewed on while teething and the mess she made while playing in her water bowl instead of drinking. My motherly instincts kicked in and nothing else mattered except for her. Taking care of Tiga became priority number one for me. Everything else could wait.

    Dylan was great too. He cuddled with her and made sure she felt safe. Everything seemed to be going well and then suddenly it wasn’t. Something wasn’t right. Tiga’s incision was red, swollen, and seeping.

    Panic started to set in.

    Had I made a mistake by taking her to a low cost clinic to get spayed? Should I have paid more and let my trusted vet do the surgery?

    I was giving her the antibiotics and she wasn’t being very active. It was time to see Dr. Kelly and make everything better. My baby was sick and I was going to do whatever I could to make her feel better.

    This little six month old, five pound kitten had me wrapped around her little paws. She stole my heart and I wasn’t getting it back.

    Tiga can’t eat very well with the cone and she can’t see her water dish, so I feed her. She needs antibiotics twice a day and those need to be hidden inside treats so she will eat them. I came home every day this week on my lunch break to check on her.

    I took care of her and she knows it.

    We created our own bond – different than the sibling bond she has with Dylan – the bond of a mother and child. Tiga now follows me around the house and patiently waits outside the bedroom door for me.

    She may have a funny looking collar for a few more days, but her infection is gone and she’s still adorable!

  • Happy Birthday Dylan … Enjoy your pet tiger!

    Wow, I still can’t believe that my little boy is 10 years old today. It seems like just yesterday he was a toddler asking me to hold him up so he could see the animals over the railing. Asking me to read him the signs at the zoo and tell him about the animals. “Are the vulnerable or endangered Mommy?”  That was his favorite question to ask and the first thing he learned about all the animals.

    Now he is the one teaching me about animals and surprising me every day with his continued love for animals and conservation.

    I’m not sure where I would be without this little guy. He changed my world forever when he was born and every day has been an adventure ever since.

    So what do you get a kid like Dylan for his birthday?

    The kid who last year wanted nothing but to raise money for the tigers at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Helping build a new home called Tiger Trail was all he asked for.

    A kitty that looks like a tiger of course!

    Thanks to my friend Heather, who posted an adorable picture of a rescued kitty on Instagram a few weeks ago, our family has grown.

    This adorable 10 week old kitty stole our hearts the minute she arrived today.

    Oh, and Dylan named her Tiga too! In honor of the new female tiger at the San Diego Zoo.

    Happy Birthday Dylan!

  • A New Year Brings New Pets

    As you may remember, Dylan lost his beloved friend Swim last February. Swim was a part of our family for almost 5 years and to this day Dylan still cries about him. After many talks, Dylan and I decided that Swim would not want him to be sad and that by getting a new fish did not mean he was replacing Swim. (Because we know nothing can ever replace that first beloved pet) Swim was such a happy fish, mainly because of the excellent care he received from Dylan, and even though he is in Heaven waiting to see Dylan one day it is time to move on.

    Now choosing the new fish was not an easy task. The new fish could not be the same color as Swim because that would be too sad for Dylan. Two pet stores and almost 2 hours later we finally had our new family members. We have made it past the critical first three weeks and are now ready to share these friends with you.
    Meet Fireball, Sea Baby, and Neptune.

    Fireball lives in Dylan’s room

    Sea Baby lives in the hallway

      

    Mommy’s Fish Neptune lives in the kitchen

  • Meet Luke

    As you know from the last post, Dylan’s beloved pet fish Swim died. We had been talking about getting a pet turtle or frog and decided to visit the pet store for more information on what was needed. Well, the pet store was having it’s weekly adoption from the shelter … need I say more? Dylan and I both were drawn to the cutest,  littlest gray furball. The name on the tag was Simba and he was estimated to be 3 months old. He was left with 3 other kittens, taped up in a cardboard box, at the shelter. An hour later, he was on his way to his new home with us.

    Dylan decided he wanted to change his name to Luke. Short for Luke Skywalker. Leave it to my son to name his cat after a Star Wars character. So without further ado, meet Luke!

    Luke spent the first day and night in Dylan’s bathroom. We visited him and played with him in the bathroom. Luke seemed to be very comfortable with his new home and with us, so we decided to let him out to explore the living room. He didn’t even try to hide this time. Luke played with Dylan and followed us around the house. Dylan wanted Luke to see his room so badly, but I reminded him that small toys could be dangerous for Luke. Dylan said OK and spent 30 minutes cleaning his room. And to think all I had to do was get a kitten and Dylan would clean his room!

    Dylan Luke and Luke Skywalker … Best Buds already!

  • Goodbye Swim

    Today Dylan lost his pet fish Swim. Swim was part of our family for almost 5 years, which is pretty long for a beta fish who lives all alone in small bowl. Dylan cried and was sad, but we said goodbye and know that Swim is in Heaven with Goldie (the pet goldfish who died when Dylan was 2 1/2)

    After a small ceremony in Dylan’s bathroom, the tears turned to a conversation of what kind of pet we should get next. Dylan is considering a turtle or a frog. So we will visit the pet store this weekend and do our research. RIP Swim, you will be missed.