Saying Goodbye to a Friend….

Hello Lovelies,

Saying goodbye is never easy, regardless of whether it's a momentary goodbye or an everlasting goodbye.  Sadly, I'm here to write about one of the saddest moments of my life.  Last Thursday, my beloved cat, Tinks, passed away.  Tinks, whose real name was once Princess was the greatest cat a person could ask for.  In fact, Tinks was more than a cat or a pet, she was my first friend and honestly one of the few that I could always count on.

I knew this moment was bound to come sooner rather than later but I always assumed this wouldn't of happened to my Tinks.  My Tinks had been through so much in her 22 years of life.  Funny thing about Tinks is we were never really sure how old she actually was.  See when we actually found Tinks, or should I say when Tinks found us, we assumed she was a kitten because she was so small.  My family and I had just moved to the town we still live in and it was a very stormy night.  My dad had driven his Corvette through a flood and parked the car in the detached garage.  Normally, these facts wouldn't be really important but all those facts lead to Tinks stumbling across our paths.  Through, some divine intervention my dads car had caught on fire and the garage was quickly going up in flames.  Tinks, or the little stray black cat was in the neighborhood and decided to alert us that the garage was on fire.  For being such a small cat she really had a set of pipes on her.  She meowed loudly enough that my dad got so annoyed with her that he went outside to try and get rid of this "annoying" cat.  Once my dad saw the fire, the annoying cat was quickly forgotten.  After some time, the fire was extinguished with minimal damage done to the car and the garage, my dad decided he would reward this cat with some tuna fish as a thank you for saving my family countless dollars.  This was the moment that Tinks decided she was going to stay with us and look after us.

I knew for some time that Tinks wasn't doing to well but I chose to ignore the fact that this could be my last moments with her.  I made sure that everyday I told her how much I loved her, just in case it was the last time I saw her.  However, I never thought Tinks would have died while I wasn't near her.  I've always heard that cats in the wild tend to go and hide when they are about to die because they don't want to burden their families.  Tinks is no different.  She waited until myself and my family went away on vacation.  I had heard she wasn't eating but I never expected the phone call saying that she died to have happened 4 days after I hugged and said "see you later!" It's been a week since she passed and I'm still struggling with feeling guilty because I wasn't there for her in her final moments.  I know for a fact I wouldn't of been able to handle that moment, but at least I would have gotten to say goodbye one last time.  I also would have told her how much she meant to me.  She was the only pet I've ever had and honestly I couldn't have asked for a better pet! She was purrfect, and I'm surely going to miss her.

As I write this I'd be lying if I didn't mention the fact that I am BALLING MY EYES OUT.  Today, was my first day home since she passed and I keep expecting her to jump up on my bed and snuggle with me.  Or when I was standing in the kitchen I kept looking down the hall waiting for her to come running down the hallway.  Not seeing her waiting on my bed when I got home broke my heart.  I'm no longer going to have her annoying little butt trying to back her butt into my lap trying to lay on my lap while I watched tv, or having her stick her poopoo paw into my food in hopes that she could steal some human food.  I'm really going to miss those moments, which is odd because whenever she did those things it would annoy the hell out of me, but now thinking about them just makes me smile.

Tinks da stinks, booboo kitty, evil shadow, stupid kitty, lala, tinkers stinkers, and most importantly Princess, I loved every moment we spent together.  You were truly the greatest gift i never asked for.   You set the precedent for all my future pets, and sadly I know that they will never measure up to you!

The last picture and moments spent with Tinks

22 years of friendship…. Thank you so much Tinks for always being there for me.  I can't believe you're gone but I know you're in a better place.  I know this isn't goodbye it's a see you later!

Must Watch: Blackfish

Hello Lovelies,

Ok, so I literally just finished one of the best documentaries I have ever seen in my life, Blackfish.  Blackfish, is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and it chronicles what a horrible life killer whales lead in captivity.  From wrangling orcas away from their families in the wild, to keeping them in pens, Blackfish shows just how inhuman these whales are treated for entertainment purposes.

Now, I like many of you have visited Sea World.  I was always amazed by how amazing these creatures really were.  I even envisioned myself one day wanting to be one of the trainers.  However, after watching this documentary I realized how misguided and how remorseful many of these trainer felt after leaving their jobs.  They talked about the many accidents that happened that often the fault landed on the trainer, not the whale.  After visiting Sea World numerous times, I never thought of the fact that these whales were forcibly removed from the wild and forced to swim in a "bathtub" for the rest of their lives.  I even thought that these animals loved what they were doing, that they seemed to enjoy the relationship they formed with their trainers.  What Blackfish succeeds in doing is showing the behind the scenes videos of some of these attacks or "accidents" as Sea World has claimed they are.  They show that these creatures are often fed up with being treated like show pony's who respond to verbal commands and are forced to perform day after day.  

Video from youtube

The scene that devastated me was when they showed baby orcas, being forcibly removed from their moms.  Right before that scene was shown, orca experts explain how baby whales, calfs, tend to stay with their moms for most of their lives.  After the whales are removed from the moms, to go to other parks, the video shows the moms crying and screaming while searching for their baby.  It's heart breaking because they whales are unable to protect their young.

Overall, I will give the movie Blackfish 5 out 5 stars.  It is a must see, eye-opening experience about the mistreatment of these whales.  While myself and many of the trainers in this movie believe Sea World doesn't need to shut down completely, they do need to reevaluate how they treat, train, and obtain these beautiful creatures.  As one of the trainers put it, Sea World has single handily open many people's lives to the world of marine biology and created a sense of intrigue into the mysterious world of the ocean.  The next time I see an orca, I hope it's on a whale watching tour on the West coast where I can admire these creatures in their natural habitat, where they should be!