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- May 13, 2010
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I have been holding back some very exciting news that I would love to share with all my friends here on Sphynx Lair.
For those of you who don't know my story, my husband and I owned three early generation Sphynx boys begining in the early 90s. We lost Zulie in 2001 and Gollum in 2002. Both were 11. Tanker outlived them both and passed away in the Fall of 2008 at the age of 16.
Because Tanker was lonely after Gollum passed, we began a phase of adopting various rescued pets. Although I longed for more Sphynx, I was having trouble justifying the expense when there are so many other things a family of 5 can spend their money on, not to mention I had convinced myself that it would be better to help unwanted animals then to purchase an exotic cat. Unfortunaltey some of the pets we have taken in have proved to have mulitple issues that have consumed a lot of our time and resources. We now have 2 Labs, 4 cats, 3 Guinea pigs and a parakeet. The last cat came to us a stray kitten in the Spring of 2008. Tanker was a friend to all including the Guinea pigs. He was the center of our household, so when he passed we took his frail body home so the others could smell him and say goodbye before we buried him in our backyard.
The mourning period was particularly hard on me. Once you have lived with a Sphynx there is really no replacement. He was one of my babies before I had human babies. My heart ached not to find him in his favorite spots and to this day I still look for him when I unload clothes from the dryer as it was always his favorite place to be. Up until about 6 months ago, I could still find ground in smudge marks he had left on a few of our radiator covers.
My husband has been such a good sport (he had to redo more than one wall torn to shreds by a golden who had a severe thunderstorm phobia) but made me promise after Tanker died that I wouldn't take in any more pets. I love my husband very much and agreed to honor his request. "No more pets" was important to him and it was important for me to respect that.
Unfortunatley being without a Sphynx hasn't gotten any easier for me. I miss the personality very much. I started lurking here earlier in the year, but by May I couldn't stand not being able to see all the pictures so I joined. I kept my visits here very secretive and tried to hide it from my family until the day I got caught by my 9 year old. I quickly blurted out "Its nothing. I'm only looking at pictures. Please don't tell your father" and shooed her out to the bus.
I felt awful on many levels but with encouragement from so many here, I came clean about my Sphynx Lair habit and talked to my husband. Mug-y's Mumma shared the phrase "Slowly slowly catchy monkey". I adopted that as my mantra and began slowly re-exposing him to the Shynx world. He loved our boys just as much as I did and was heartbroken by their deaths.
Over the last several weeks he has been looking over my shoulder while I'm here trying to catch glimpses of photos and videos. During this time I have been open about my desire to own another Sphynx and to ultimately find one who I can explore an option in pet therapy with. I always thought the breed was very compatible with pet therapy and its something I feel compelled to do.
Well finally my "Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey" plan worked.
My hubby said OK and has gave me his blessing to look for a Sphynx!!
It will still be a while before I find the right one as personality will be the key, but it is a big step in the right direction. I have already been in touch with a breeder who has worked with a couple who do pet therapy with their Sphynx. I was given excellent references and I feel very confident that she knows what I'm looking for when it comes to temperament. Now the waiting game begins, but at least I know now that I won't be Sphynxless forever.
For those of you who don't know my story, my husband and I owned three early generation Sphynx boys begining in the early 90s. We lost Zulie in 2001 and Gollum in 2002. Both were 11. Tanker outlived them both and passed away in the Fall of 2008 at the age of 16.
Because Tanker was lonely after Gollum passed, we began a phase of adopting various rescued pets. Although I longed for more Sphynx, I was having trouble justifying the expense when there are so many other things a family of 5 can spend their money on, not to mention I had convinced myself that it would be better to help unwanted animals then to purchase an exotic cat. Unfortunaltey some of the pets we have taken in have proved to have mulitple issues that have consumed a lot of our time and resources. We now have 2 Labs, 4 cats, 3 Guinea pigs and a parakeet. The last cat came to us a stray kitten in the Spring of 2008. Tanker was a friend to all including the Guinea pigs. He was the center of our household, so when he passed we took his frail body home so the others could smell him and say goodbye before we buried him in our backyard.
The mourning period was particularly hard on me. Once you have lived with a Sphynx there is really no replacement. He was one of my babies before I had human babies. My heart ached not to find him in his favorite spots and to this day I still look for him when I unload clothes from the dryer as it was always his favorite place to be. Up until about 6 months ago, I could still find ground in smudge marks he had left on a few of our radiator covers.
My husband has been such a good sport (he had to redo more than one wall torn to shreds by a golden who had a severe thunderstorm phobia) but made me promise after Tanker died that I wouldn't take in any more pets. I love my husband very much and agreed to honor his request. "No more pets" was important to him and it was important for me to respect that.
Unfortunatley being without a Sphynx hasn't gotten any easier for me. I miss the personality very much. I started lurking here earlier in the year, but by May I couldn't stand not being able to see all the pictures so I joined. I kept my visits here very secretive and tried to hide it from my family until the day I got caught by my 9 year old. I quickly blurted out "Its nothing. I'm only looking at pictures. Please don't tell your father" and shooed her out to the bus.
I felt awful on many levels but with encouragement from so many here, I came clean about my Sphynx Lair habit and talked to my husband. Mug-y's Mumma shared the phrase "Slowly slowly catchy monkey". I adopted that as my mantra and began slowly re-exposing him to the Shynx world. He loved our boys just as much as I did and was heartbroken by their deaths.
Over the last several weeks he has been looking over my shoulder while I'm here trying to catch glimpses of photos and videos. During this time I have been open about my desire to own another Sphynx and to ultimately find one who I can explore an option in pet therapy with. I always thought the breed was very compatible with pet therapy and its something I feel compelled to do.
Well finally my "Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey" plan worked.
My hubby said OK and has gave me his blessing to look for a Sphynx!!
It will still be a while before I find the right one as personality will be the key, but it is a big step in the right direction. I have already been in touch with a breeder who has worked with a couple who do pet therapy with their Sphynx. I was given excellent references and I feel very confident that she knows what I'm looking for when it comes to temperament. Now the waiting game begins, but at least I know now that I won't be Sphynxless forever.
