Friday, January 20, 2012

The birthday boy, and another lucky cat

Yesterday was Gordon's B I R T H  D A Y,  so he took the day off (we always take our birthdays off!) We drove to Perth to have lunch with our friends Willie and Sue. We became friends with them back when we were all living in Nova Scotia. It's great that after we moved back to Ontario, they moved to Perth. It's about a two-hour drive from here, but it's closer than Nova Scotia!

Perth is a beautiful small Ontario town on the Tay River, full of gorgeous stone buildings.

We had lunch here at Fiddleheads Bar & Grill...


...and Gordon got his dessert free because it was his birthday!



Big old water tower!




The courthouse and other municipal offices.




Gordon LOOOOVES to look at real estate listings!

Perth is even prettier in summer, so we will go back for another visit then.


After lunch and  a stroll, we went back to Sue and Willie's and met their new cat, Dutch...


Dutch was at the Lanark Animal Welfare Society for 13 months while he waited for his forever home. As you can see, he has now found it and he's happy.

When Willie and Sue went in to adopt the cat, they asked who had been there the longest. That was Dutch. After his adoption, the shelter put a little notice in the local paper...




Dutch is a beautiful, mellow cat and I don't know why no one adopted him sooner. He does look a little cranky in his adoption photo but it's just the funny way his "eyebrows" are. He sometimes looks like he's furrowing his brow.

Hmmmm, maybe the fact that he weighs 20 lbs has something to do with it....


Willie and Sue did a weigh-in so we could check Dutch's heft. he is NOT a delicate flower!


But he sure is happy!


Gordon was smitten. Don't tell Emily!


Dutch kept running at my camera, wanting to head-butt it. He's very friendly and affectionate.



And he REEEALLY likes the propane fireplace!



His fur got very hot while he was lying here but he didn't seem to care.



Gordon has a new friend.

I am so glad there are people like Willie and Sue, who will give a chance to an animal who needs it most. Dutch has become great buddies with their other cat, Herman. Herman is 13 and has always been shy around strangers, so I didn't get any photos of him, but apparently he has been whipping Dutch into shape. ;)

 Meanwhile, back at home, the birthday boy had a little cuddle with our kitten Emily...



Two lucky cats! One who showed up in the bitter cold at our farm and was taken in, and another who waited patiently at a shelter for a year until the people he was meant to be with showed up.

A lovely day was had by all! Gordon also got a nice bottle of wine and two loaves of Willie's egg bread. Willie used to own a bakery in Nova Scotia and is a master baker. The last time we saw him, he brought us three dozen of his world famous cinnamon buns. YUM! 

Thanks for a great day, Willie and Sue.




24 comments:

  1. This was wonderful. I have brushed him and cuddled him and told him someone special would find him and love him forever. I have tears in my eyes typing this. I love these happy endings. We were in Perth yesterday, too. We found a Vermont stove on kijiji (sp?) so went to look at it. We are only 25 minutes from there. We have eaten at that restaurant, too. It's great. Those photos of Dutch are wonderful. I'm sure the new owners will want to frame some. Thanks for this post this morning. It made my day. I'm off to cat-sit and meet 2 friends for coffee. I'll tell them about Dutch as they are all retired rescue people for LAWS. :-)

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  2. Oh sorry....this head of mine. "Happy Birthday, Gordon" *sheesh*

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  3. First of all, happy birthday to Gordon. And wow, what a great story. SO so glad Dutch found his forever home. Adoption stories always make my eyes all misty. And yes, Emily is one lucky girl.

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  4. Happy Birthday to Gordon! Glad to see that Emily is thriving! The photos and the story of Dutch are wonderful. Isn't LAWS super to have kept that gorgeous cat until it had found a home. Thirteen months is a long time but obviously fate was just waiting for the perfect family to come along.
    Perth is beautiful in the summer and I hope you do come back :)

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  5. A wonderful day. Dutch looks like one big bundle of love!

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  6. Isn't Perth a wonderful community to visit? We try to get there a couple of times a year.

    Happy Birthday to hubby.

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  7. We had a wonderful day, too.
    Thank you for being such good friends.
    Great pics and we will save them.

    Thank you also to the nice commenters.

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  8. Dutch is definitely one handsome fellow!

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  9. Happy Birthday, Gordon!

    I'm sure our Bennie and the lovely Dutch, must share some common ancestor - very similar heads, same temperament, lovely cats. I am so pleased that Dutch has found his family at last.

    Emily looks as lovely as always.

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  10. Anonymous2:59 pm

    Happy Birthday Gordon!

    Dutch is a handsome cat. He looks very content in his comfortable home.

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  11. Dutch look just like Richard's Barney who we rescued when I saw him as a stray eating my bird's suet. The poor little begger. It took me a while but after feeding him and capturing him, he's the nicest cat ever. And almost as big as Dutch! Great story...and, er, well, I should have started this post with Happy Birthday Gordon!!

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  12. Deb, I think it's so neat that you've met and come to know Dutch. Willie and Sue will lavish lots of love and attention on him.

    I want to do a road trip and visit you sometime, and go for fish and chips. :)

    Sandra, I am so happy for Dutch. He's a really lovely cat and he's in a superb home now.

    Paula, I forgot -- you are out that way too, aren't you? I will definitely be back to Perth and we'll have to meet up some time in the future!!

    Jams, he's a HUGE bundle of love!

    Musical Gardener, I like it around there. i like Merrickville and Brockville, too! GOrdon likes the Brockville courthouse. He has appeared there already and gets referrals from Brockville.

    Willie, we'll be back. :) I think you need at least two more cats.

    Elaine, Bennie looks like a great kitty.

    CogDis (and the rest!) thanks for the birthday greetings for Gordon!

    Ronna, imagine a cat being hungry and eating suet. I'm glad Barney has a good home with RIchard.

    Wandering Cat, he is!

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    1. Testing the thread comment feature new to Blogger. Seems to work!

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  13. Anonymous8:31 pm

    Another Perth on another Tay? Greetings from (very near) The Original.

    And "Gordon loves to look at real estate listings" eh? Wow you've got a wild man there Knat. However did you tame him?

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    1. Andrew, there are a LOT of places around here with names ripped off from Scotland! THere are also a LOT of people more Scottish than the Scots, if you get my meaning. :)

      And yes, Gordon is a crazy man. I just don't know how to contain him!!

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  14. Happy Birthday Gordon!!! That big kitty is really cute! That's a lot of cat! Tee hee. I really think that Gordon would like a goat or three for his birthday. We all think that he would be very kind to goats!

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    1. Isobelle, I told Gordon what you said and he was tickled. He would really like some goats!

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  15. Anonymous12:42 pm

    Happy belated birthday to Gordon!

    What a heartwarming story about Dutch. And what a nice approach to adopting a pet--asking which cat has been in the shelter the longest. Bravo to your friends!

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    1. It's great, isn't it? The kittens never have a problem getting adopted because of course they're so cute, but the older cats get passed over a lot. :(

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  16. So glad Dutch was adopted by your loving friends.
    What a great story! Dutch, Emily, Barney, and my in-laws own Burnie. All cats lovingly rescued and loved.

    I have seen Perth in the Summertime, but your photos make me want to visit it in Winter too. Lovely place!
    I am glad you all had a great day on Gordon's birthday.

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    1. It's so pretty there. I'm looking forward to going back.

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  17. Happy Birthday Gordon!

    What a lovely story about Dutch. Oh I'm welling up thinking he took so long to find his forever home!

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    1. I know, me too! No wonder Dutch is so happy now.

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    2. I believe they know they have been rescued.
      And...oh the rewards we get from them!

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!