Rodriguez Family Events

Christmas has come and gone without incident. This year, Christmas was confined to mostly family. Mom and I tried to get most of our shopping done early. I started by picking up a bunch of anime-themed t-shirts in the summer months. Mom and I picked up a handful of gifts for specific individuals and also some gift cards to ensure that everyone got something. This year, the menu included glazed ham, roast chicken, stuffing, potato salad, baked macaroni and cheese and a variety of deserts. The menu was very successful as nearly everything was gone by the end of the day. Mom scored a Tinker Bell figure and some kitchen equipment including a waffle-maker and a panini press. I scored a dragon figure and a dress shirt. Daisy and Chris took the holiday in stride. They score some new tows and some kitty treats. But, as usual, they were more interested in the bags, boxes and wrapping paper than in the kitty toys. This year, Christmas day was unusually warm, so, we had the screens open in the fr...

Following the passing of Toto, we have noticed changes in the behavior of both Daisy and Chris. Before Chris' arrival, Daisy would come upstairs and call to us in the middle of the night. After Chris entering the scene, Chris did not allow Daisy upstairs, but, Toto was allowed to come and go from the upstairs as he pleased. Now that Toto is no longer with us, Daisy has resumed coming upstairs and calling to us in the middle of the night. Of course, when Daisy wants to go back downstairs in the morning, Chris can usually be found blocking Daisy's path. Chris and Toto had an interesting relationship. Chris would follow Toto around like a lost puppy, because where Toto went, food was sure to follow. But, on those occasions where food didn't follow, Chris would get mad at Toto. Toto could usually see trouble coming and was not inclined to be overly aggressive, so, he would usually give Chris a bit of space. Naturally, there were rare instances when Chris would cross some sort o...

It is with a heavy heart that I report the demise of Toto. When I brought Toto and his brother home almost five years ago, Toto couldn't even stand to look at me. Who knew that he turn out to be a lovable guy. Of course, Toto's brother, Otto, played a big part in helping Toto to come out of his shell and become a member of our family. When Otto disappeared, Toto was very upset. Toto tried to cope with life without his brother, but, Daisy was a poor substitute for Otto. We had hoped that Chris might brighten his spirit and he did seem to be very protective with Chris. Although Chris was more tolerant of Toto than she was of Daisy, Chris was not really interested in hanging out and playing with Toto as his brother once did. Recently, we discovered Toto in the midst of a dramatic downward spiral. He lost weight and eventually, he stopped eating entirely. After Toto stopped eating, we knew the end was near and decided to take Toto to our regular vet for euthanasia. To look at Toto ...