Tally, our youngest schnauzer celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday. Did she get cake? No, she got a trip to the vet to check out a lump on her underbelly. It wasn’t as if I cruelly planned it this way; it was the soonest available date. They did a quick biopsy and found it to be nothing but fatty tissue, so it turned out to be a good birthday gift. Let’s Pawty like it’s 1999! Tally is typically a very healthy dog and hopefully that will continue for many more years. Other than an eye issue and required annual physicals, she has kept us out of vet debt. Pet.Vet.Debt.

Our older schnauzer Tinker, will turn 15 in another month. Pawty Time Again! Like her dog-sister Tally, she was adopted so their actual birth dates may not be totally accurate. Frankie, our Burmese kitty, on the other hand, was purchased at birth from a breeder 18 years ago next month. Unlike the original dark brown variety, Frankie is pure white. We like the fact that she has hair rather than fur and rarely sheds. Apparently she’s a descendant of one female cat called Wong Mau, which was brought from Burma to America in 1930 and bred with American Siamese. The average life span of a Burmese is 16-18 years, so with this upcoming birthday in a few weeks she will defy the odds. Pawty On, Garth!

We haven’t told Frankie that we will be traveling to her homeland of Thailand in two months, but she’s apparently a native Hoosier and made a part of our family while we lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tinker is from Decatur, Illinois, while Texas Tally is from Austin. I guess you could say we have a world of pets, although we likely won’t have a Portland pet, breaking the tradition of a pet in every “port” where we’ve lived. With our plans for extensive retirement travel in four years, taking care of pets simply won’t fit in. If we’re fortunate to still have Tally around, we’ll probably have also somehow resisted the temptation to find her a Tinker-like companion.

Tinker and Frankie would probably react with separate thoughts of “I’m not dead yet.” This was my very reaction to sentiments from friends and family after last week’s unexpected visit to the Emergency Room. (See Post #810). Frankie is getting a bit frail and apparently gave one of her nine lives to Tinker and they’re both very much alive despite their combined 33 years. A year ago, Tinker was constantly at the vet for ear infections, arthritis, dry eye, lumps, moles, and allergy concerns. This is when I originally started writing about “Pet.Vet.Debt” and “Schnauzer on Steroids.” (See Post #67). Yesterday, was the first time that I took both dogs to the vet and Tinker’s ailments were not the center of attention. In fact, they all commented on how well she was doing. Tinker may very well be around when my wife finally earns retirement and our celebratory trip around the world.

Until then, we’ll be celebrating the birthdays of Tinker, Tally, and Frankie, all within a one-month span of Pawty after Pawty. Tinker and Tally will be back at the vet for their annual check-ups just before Frankie’s big day. Frankie is an indoor kitty and seldom leaves the comforts of our home. She has, however, gone to the vet due to two urinary tract infections and taken long car rides from Indy to Decatur to Austin to Portland, so she’s a well-traveled cat. I doubt she can talk us into taking her with us to Thailand, but we’ll bring her back a souvenir. While we’re gone, all of our fur buddies will be under the care of our pet sitter. Maybe…they will all Pawdy in our absence?