Photo Shoot Sunday: Big Fat Dash

It has been one year since our Dashie Boy left us. We still miss him terribly. He was a wonderful boy and a great addition to the family. In honor of him I wanted to share a few photos of him. 

In Memoriam: Dash Kitty

Today is a very sad day here at the Little Mills Kingdom. We have discovered that we have indeed lost our poor kitty Dash.

We got Dash the day before Halloween of 2010. In the summer of 2010, we had gotten two orange and white kittens from the same litter, and we named them Tom and Jerry. We loved Tom and Jerry. The week leading up to Halloween poor Jerry got hit by a car. We were so sad. Poor Tommy boy was just a lonely little wreck. So we went back to the family we got them from hoping to still get a kitten from the same litter, hoping that the kittens would remember each other. We liked them having each other to snuggle with when it is cold out and to have each other's backs when they feel threatened, etc. 

The first day we brought Dash home he was very, very skittish. We almost named him Skitty. I had to hang out in the back yard keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't take off. Tom was super excited to have him around and would not take no for an answer when it came to playing together. It took a bit of convincing. The night of Halloween he disappeared. We searched for him and luckily we found him being taken care of at a home just up the street from us. We figure he got spooked with all of the trick or treaters and then couldn't find his way home.

After that he and Tom were inseparable. We often found them in our garage lounging  on the jogging stroller.

 Unfortunately, the following April (2011) Tommy boy disappeared. It was very unlike him to wander off and the first morning he missed breakfast we knew something wasn't right. We never saw him again.

Dash on the other hand was a little bit of a wanderer. Nothing major for the most part. Last summer he got mad at me for taking in a rescue kitten, Roxie, and took off for a week but he eventually found his way home.

 So when I noticed I hadn't seen him for a day or so about three weeks ago I wasn't too concerned, but I didn't like it either. We asked the neighbors to keep an eye out for him and to let us know if he was seen.

Well, this morning we got a call from our good neighbors across the street, the Nutleys. They were wondering if they had found our boy Dash. Nate went over to confirm and unfortunately it was him. He hadn't been gone long. Looks like he had drowned in our irrigation ditch after this weekends rain storms. Poor Dashie boy. We will sure miss him. The hard part comes tonight when we have to break the news to the kids. They have missed him so much and been so worried about him.  

 Our other kitty, Pepper, has just been lost without him these last three weeks. She is so social and is getting increasingly attention starved without having her buddy around.

I will miss you greeting me every morning when I return from my run and having you demand attention and a good rub down while I try to catch my breath and stretch a bit.

I will miss you attacking the plants I am trying to work with in the garden.

I will miss hearing your bell tinkling while you run around the yard.

We love you Dash! Thank you so much for all of the love and fun you have brought to our family these last 2 and half years. You will surely be missed.

 

Dash

June 2010 - April 2013

 

Easter

I hope she enjoys her head start in the egg hunt. Won't be too many more years that they are gonna allow that. Isn't she cute?

I know this photo is all fuzzy but I just love it! She was so giddy with excitement. So much fun!

Ethan got a Lego Harry Potter game. He loves it, I think it's confusing, thus I lose. A Lot. Another reason he loves it.

Ally got Mystery Date. I have never been on more dates with a nerd in all my life. Let's just say it was a HUGE hit in her tween world.

Ryland got Star Wars Guess Who? I have never played that game before, let alone the Star Wars version. Word of advice, you are gonna get schooled if you don't know your Star Wars characters.

Evie got Princess Yahtzee. Let's just say that all these weeks later, it has still not been played with the way it was meant to be played with. Do we really care around here? Not really.

Dash kitty wondering what the big deal is.

Introductions: Dash

Not very long ago we introduced you to our two new kitties, Tom and Jerry. They were orange and white brothers from the same litter. We were all heartbroken to find out a week before Halloween that Jerry had passed away. Since Tom was still so young and only being tolerated by our elderly cat Nikki, we decided to see if any of the other kittens from his original litter were still available. We wanted him to have someone to play with, stay warm with, and to be able to stand next to when older, meaner cats approached. Luckily for us, they had Dash. Just days after Jerry's passing we brought him home. They seemed to remember each other just fine and almost acted as if the last few months apart hadn't even happened. Weeks later Dash has made himself at home and a part of this family.

This photo was taken the first few days he was at our house. At the time he was pretty camera shy, so I was lucky to have even gotten this shot. Since then he has gotten used to me taking photos of him. The next few photos were all taken on completely different days, but it shows where these two are most likely to be found.

This last set really cracks me up. I promise I found them this way, I did not pose them in any way. Plus have you ever tried to pose a cat? If you have then you know that there is no way they would EVER let me put them this way of their own free will and choice.

They are so fun and the kids just love having them around. Although we miss Jerry we are so grateful we brought Dash home as quickly as we did. Once he was here we could see how much Tom was missing having a buddy. We sure hope they are with us for many years. We would love to have a pair of tom cats as old and ornery as our Nikki Kitty is now. Well, I better quit rambling on and on about these two cuties before I get called a crazy cat lady!