Last week, I was working with Bambi, the sweet old Yorkie at Landrum vet, and I had just completed helping Miss Lilah at Bonnie Brae’s. 

Miss Lilah is a 9-year-old Great Dane that had a blockage, which was repaired, and he’s thriving at home. I had intended to discuss what it was like working with two older ladies, one over 100 pounds and the other under 5 pounds. 

For a while, I felt a bit like James Harriet “All creatures great and small.”

Then I learned that J.J., the sweet brave Garfield cat at Landrum Vet, had stopped breathing, as his heart stopped during some necessary tooth work. He came around with some resuscitation, but was very weak. 

Dr. Raines took J.J. home for a few days, and the clinic was sort of in a funk worrying about their feline ambassador. J.J. roams the halls and waiting area at will without any fear, but wise enough to give certain canines their distance.

On Tuesday, when I visited, J.J. was back and wandering around as if nothing was wrong. I quickly grabbed my camera from my car and snapped some photos for posterity. 

Elaine, the head honcho at Landrum Vet, told me, “Lennie, for a while there I thought something was wrong with J.J.’s legs.  Each time I turned, around another staff member was carrying him.” 

I burst out laughing.

“Why that little ham.” 

“You bet,” Elaine went on laughing herself. “He milked it for all it was worth.”

Last week, at Bonnie Brae’s, I was waiting for Angel Mitchell to give me a run down on how Lilah the Great Dane was doing. Tiger, their grey tiger striper, was lying on the counter, and I was stroking him while talking with the staff. 

“Hi Lennie,” a client had just walked in with one of my kids in tow. 

I left Tiger and went over to greet the man and pet my old friend. As I was gushing over the dog, rubbing his ears and asking how he was doing, Tiger came down from the counter, darted across the waiting area and scampered up the cat post. 

“Oh my God,” the man said. “I never knew Tiger had three legs.” 

Placing my fingers to my lips, I whispered, “Shh, he doesn’t know that either.”

Before closing, I’d like to give a shout out to Gabe, the great old greeting cat at P3’s.  Paws, Prayers and Promises are another of the wonderful rescue organizations that will be represented at my Gala on May 20.

Gabe has been on the job for a long time, and is now suffering with kidney failure (I certainly can associate) — please add the beautiful, super friendly feline to your prayer list.

Thanks for listening.