All Creatures September/October 2020

NOTHING BRINGS ME greater calm than observing my golden, Gracie, sleep. Talk about mindfulness. It puts me right in the moment. Sometimes I’ll align my breathing with hers. Sometimes I think our brain waves actually synchronize. At any rate, if I watch her long enough, I drop off myself. I have lots of opportunities to achieve this co-nirvana because Gracie is a world-class napper. She can sleep anywhere and in nearly any position: splayed on her back like a starfish, stretched out like a lioness, or curled in a perfect circle, tucked tail to nose. Out on a mountain trail if we tarry too long over a water break, Gracie will cop a snooze. I once looked up whether dogs suffer from narcolepsy. They don’t. Her favorite slumber zone is…

At the Mia Foundation in Rochester, New York, Sue Rogers takes in animals with birth defects. The nonprofit rescue has seen its share of cats and dogs, but it is also home to a pigeon named Herman. “He can’t fly,” Rogers says. “I want him to have enrichment every day, so I move him around the house.” Herman has always kept a safe distance from the dogs and cats…until Lundy arrived. The Chihuahua puppy, who’s unable to walk due to a spinal defect, was placed in Herman’s bed while his own bed was being cleaned. For safety, Rogers kept a hand between them. Then something amazing happened. “Herman perked his head up and started nuzzling Lundy,” she says. The pigeon and the puppy became fast friends. “I’ve never seen Herman…

pleasant sounds The rustling of leaves under the feet in woods and under hedges; The crumpling of cat-ice and snow down wood-rides, narrow lanes, and every street causeway; Rustling through a wood or rather rushing, while the wind halloos in the oak-toop like thunder; The rustle of birds’ wings startled from their nests or flying unseen into the bushes; The whizzing of larger birds overhead in a wood, such as crows, puddocks, buzzards; The trample of robins and woodlarks on the brown leaves, and the patter of squirrels on the green moss; The fall of an acorn on the ground, the pattering of nuts on the hazel branches as they fall from ripeness; The flirt of the groundlark’s wing from the stubbles— how sweet such pictures on dewy mornings, when…

CHARLIE Our beagle boy finds the sunny spot in any room. —David T. WILSON He relaxed after our guests left on New Year’s Eve. —Cindy Wortman BROWNIE She naps like this often, always near me. —Merriehelen Myrvold COCO She requires several “lap naps” daily. —Sandy Gardner GIBBY My little old man’s cocoon keeps him cozy. —Sherise Schleining MEMPHIS  Our Goldador has always had big paws. —Michelle Anderton Grove LUCY  Our playful girl will sleep just about anywhere. —Janet Gonzales Miller MISSY She likes to cover herself up while I’m working from home. —Pam Miller MAXIMUS He’s snug with his blanket and Garfield toy. —Mercedes Tappy DULCIE AND SADIE During the day, these two nap near each other, Dulcie (top) channeling her inner cat. —Lori Wright Dowling…

NOT LONG AFTER my husband, Ed, and I got married 38 years ago, we adopted two kittens, Sam and Nicky. They lived long, happy lives. In their memory, we put up a monument in our backyard with bricks bearing their names and the years they’d lived. Eventually we moved to a new house and brought the bricks with us. Since then, we’ve had 10 more pets, and each time we said goodbye, we made a new brick. But the weather wore them down, and it became hard to see the engraved names. A few years ago, I ordered custom photo magnets online—one for each of our beloved pets, with names and dates just like the bricks. The magnets are lightweight, so they’ll be easy to take along if we move…

LAST YEAR Lyndze Smoot spotted a blessing box in her hometown of Jackson, Kentucky—a small wooden structure that serves as a food pantry. People are encouraged to take what they need and donate when they can. Lyndze loved the idea. “It hit me that something like that for animals would be so beneficial in our area,” she says. Kentucky leads the nation in cases of animal abuse and neglect. “It’s so sad, and I wanted to do whatever I could to help,” she says. She contacted a local woodworker named Travis Combs. Several community members donated money to buy the materials. Travis built the box, and it was installed in front of an antiques store this past January. “We fill it with dog and cat food, toys, treats, and cat…