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Erika's Page

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To view photo at full size, click on the photo with the right mouse button. All photos are copyright Wayne and Patricia Primeau. All Rights Reserved.
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cat photoErika came to us from a friend's farm. Having been born in a barn, put in a box, and brought to our home, she had never been outside. The first time we took her out into the back garden, she looked up, realized that there was no ceiling, and had a panic attack. She had never been outside before, had never been in a place without a ceiling, and had agoraphobia. She eventually got to enjoy going out to the garden, but it took two summers for her to feel completely relaxed about it.

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When Erika arrived she met our two dogs, Tanya and Mina. At first she was frightened. Well who wouldn't be? Their heads were larger than her whole body. After a few weeks they all became friends. When Tanya and Mina died of old age, Erika felt lonely. By then we had adopted another stray cat, Bubi, but that wasn't the same as a dog.

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cat photoShe seemed quite pleased when we came home one day with a puppy, Hannah. It may have been the really big bags of food, or perhaps she just liked having a big warm dog to cuddle with, but she bonded with Hannah almost immediately. They spent hours playing together and sleeping together daily.

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Erika was always good at finding the warmest place to snooze, a sunny window, a heating vent, over the pilot light on the gas stove, a dog's warm tummy.

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Erika was never interested in spending time outdoors, but she always enjoyed looking out, watching the world go by. Every morning she would station herself at a window, one with a nice comfortable ledge on which to nap. She used to get a great thrill out of seeing birds land on the lawn, or on the outside window ledge of our apartment in Moscow.

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cat photoThere is much more to a cat's life than playing with her dog, looking out the window and snoozing. There's catnip. Some of her happiest moments were spent with a new catnip toy, like this Christmas present in 1994. There's food. Meal times were, of course, the highlights of any day. Erika is peeking over the table to make certain that I am preparing her dinner correctly.

cat photoErika was a world traveller. She came with us on posting to Moscow and from there to Occupied East Jerusalem. At the age of 17 she died, in Palestine. Vets in Israel and Palestine have no way of burying or cremating bodies of dead pets. Their only option is to throw them in the garbage. We could not bear to have our dear little friend treated that way. Our vet suggested to us that we should find a place outside town and bury her ourselves. We did. She was laid to rest on a deserted hilltop overlooking East Jerusalem.

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To see photos of our other furry friends, click on the links below.


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Patti

This page was updated on 26 November 2007.

Contact me at: patti.primeau@sympatico.ca

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