I don't know Candace, I've missed those posters too.
I did have Karen M.'s address, and sent her an e-mail today. Hopefully
we'll hear from her.

Sherry

Hey Candance and all,

I got *2* emails saying my name was spoken in vain on here.... ;) I've
been busy, not to mention the constant vitriol got tiresome. I see
things haven't changed, have they? But I've missed many of you.

All the furkids are doing well, still running the roost with iron paws.
How about all of yours? We adopted a new dog last fall, as our old dog,
Bubbas, died last spring from cancer. Our new dog, Buddy, is only 1.5
yo, and totally sweet and a ball of energy. He also loves chewing up my
underwear (sorry, TMI). hee hee

xo - K

Did get a Christmas card from Monika-remember Jack the cat?  (The eBay?)A
nice note and they are doing well.

Miss some of the other regulars, though.

--
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.

I told Juls about this thread and she asked me to post a message for
her.

Megan

*********************
Message from Juls:

Preface: I'm sure there are many new folks wondering what the deal
with Jack might be. His story is at http//www.ect.org/dj (pictures are
missing....I've just not had the time to get them back up; I had them on
my old webspace and changed providers when I moved...it's on my list of
"to-do's," along with add new cute pictures!)

Hi everyone! In response to the "Whatever happened to..." post, I wanted
to let you all know how we (Jack, Dmitri and myself, Juls) are.

In a word: fantastic! The last several months have been hectic and I
haven't spent time on Usenet, but I think of you all every time I look
at Jack's smile. I'll always be so thankful for so many people pulling
together in spirit, and financially, to bring us together.

He's a happy boy, so full of love, and has brought so much to my life,
and to Dmitri. They are still the bookends and do everything
together....sleep, eat, lick heads, and play. Oddly, they even share
litter boxes, even though they each have one. Dmitri has a funny habit
of getting in one box, then using his paw to scoop litter from the other
into the box he's using.

As I type, they're on the bed bathing one another, so tenderly. You
would think after this length of time, I'd be used to that, but seeing
them dote on one another can still bring me to tears. I've never seen
two cats love each other the way those two do.

Jack still nurtures Dmitri during a thunderstorm and takes care of him,
and when a neighbor cat was trying to tell
Jack he owned the neighborhood through a window, Dmitri quickly jumped
next to Jack and told the neighbor cat off....big time. No hissing or
growling, just a cat chatter of "how dare you!" It seemed he was saying
"You mess with my brother, you mess with me."

Despite his age (16), Dmitri is doing pretty well. He has some arthritis
in his front leg, but he still manages a good ambush on Jack now and
then. I keep the cat tent from Beth at the end of the hall, and it's
their ambush cave. One will hide in there waiting for the other one to
wander down the hall, then pounce. They still love the tent, their
catnip pillows and their warm bed.

Jack is still shy around strangers, but it doesn't take him long to turn
a stranger into a friend. He's my big bud, and loves to get on my lap,
or stretch out on my leg when I'm in bed. Often, Dmitri will be on my
lap and Jack can't be left out, so he piles on top. A pile of purring
cats - life doesn't get any better than that!

Jack loves to watch TV, and he still loves a bite of raw hamburger. He's
also good at sniffing out food and opening packages. He still has some
feral habits, such as always finding a piece of paper or rag to cover
his food plate or his litter box.

Once, he couldn't find anything for his litterbox and actually pulled
out a heating vent and somehow got it in there. He loves to sleep on my
pillow, as long as he can touch Dmitri while he does so. The butts must
touch during all naps.

He's like a bag of beans. When he first arrived, he was kind of
skittish, but now I can toss him around my neck, lift him up in the air,
do whatever I want. He knows he's safe. He's also very ticklish, but
never bites or scratches (unless he's makin muffins, and then he gets a
bit carried away). Dmitri is still the local busybody and has to see
what the neighbors are up to. He constantly makes a window in the blinds
at night so he can see what's going on. Jack isn't that interested
unless there are birds to see, but when Dmitri is really into looking
outside, he often has to get in the middle of it with his "Whatcha doin?
Whatcha doin? Whatcha doin?" Always together!
Jack also chatters quite a bit...he's very talkative and always tells me
what he wants. (Either food or love...he loves to be cuddled!)

I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about Catharine. I look
at Jack's funny smile and hope she knows how happy he is...and how much
we love him.
He's really a charmer, and has the most wonderful sense of humor. He
knows how to make me laugh, and he and Dmitri often team up with silly
poses, it seems, just to make me laugh. He loves to make me laugh. My
mom says when they're wrestling, they look like two bear cubs.

We moved last year, and they really love where we live now. Lots of
windows to watch the birds and rabbits (!) that populate the back yard.
Before Jack, Dmitri always tried to sneak out and get outside. Since
Jack, he has no interest in going outside....his interest is his
brother. I'll never tire of telling everyone how those two adore one
another.

I still call them my clones, because they do everything in tandem. They
wake up at the same time, sleep together (always have to be touching),
and if Dmitri moves to a new sleeping spot, Jack follows right behind.

A year or so ago, I hurt my back and was in pretty bad shape for a
couple of weeks. They were both so sweet about it, and there were times
I was struggling to walk into the kitchen. They would sit side by side,
hand on hand (like they were holding hands), and watch patiently. You
could see the concern in their faces, so I was trying to reassure them
it was okay. What was amazing was that they cut out their usual behavior
of wanting food every two minutes. They never fussed for food, never
misbehaved, and tried to entertain me with little shows of leapfrog. It
was really sweet. They just seemed to know what to do to make it as easy
as they could on me.

So all in all, life is good and they are the two happiest cats on earth.
It's as if Jack has always been here.

I hope all is well with everyone and I miss being here and chatting. If
anyone wants to email me, you can get my email address from Megan (or
find it on the website) I'd love to hear from you.

Juls