And I don't want people to think I've brought the interloper in as a replacement for Buzz. I have not. I brought him in because he needed a home, and because of the possibility of him chasing Buzz away. And he's a sweet boy (not in the same way Buzz is, but similar). I realize that chances diminish with the time that has passed, but I'm not giving up. It's hard some days*, especially on days I go to a shelter. I will say that having the interloper has helped me not to forget, but to focus on something else for a while.

Speaking of the interloper, that little turd is into everything. He jumped up onto a crowded shelf in my office last night and managed not to knock anything over. A for Agility. He went into my closet, Jeff's closet, under the couch, etc. And he doesn't want to leave. If I try to push him out or even say "get out of there" or "come on," he gets all pissy. He crawled under the back of the couch and crawled all the way diagonally to the front, bitching the entire way. I have no idea what he was bitching about, but it was pretty damn funny.

* Especially reading stories like this (which I found looking up a 'pet detective' who called me):

The communicator told Shannon that Jace had escaped from the home, because the home was too chaotic and he couldn�t handle it anymore. He had hidden and would stay in hiding. He did not want to go back to the home he had escaped from. Through a series of sessions, the communicator informed Jace that if he went back to the garage and into one of the three traps in there and waited for Shannon, she would then take Jace home to live with her and her six cats. Shannon had the communicator make a promise to the cat that she would never let him live in that house again. Three days later, Jace appeared in one of the traps!

That makes me wonder. And it doesn't help that the interloper follows me from room to room just as Buzz does as I'm cooking, on the computer, doing laundry, and whatever else I have to do before finally going to bed. I've shut the bedroom door to them both looking at me expectantly. I do pay attention, but it's in short intervals between everything else. Sometimes Buzz will hide in the back bathroom where it's quiet. Thea does the same thing in the office. Baby could sleep through a hurricane, however. I just wonder with the TV on, me running around, Jeff throwing the ball for and rough-housing with the dog if it was too much. Over-analysis alert.