Leo is five

Today isn’t just the first day of meteorological winter in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s also something far more important: Today is Leo’s fifth birthday. This year is yet another first birthday without a family member, and now it’s the fourth in a row: 2019 was his first birthday without his sister, Bella, 2020 was his first birthday since we lost his other daddy, 2021 was his first birthday since we lost his sister, Sunny, and this year it’s the first since we lost Jake. I can’t even guess whether he’s aware of any of that, but he does still sniff the collars that Sunny and Jake wore, just not necessarily every day any more.

Today, Leo wasn’t really into having an official birthday portrait taken, so I grabbed what I could, and the two photos are up top. The left photo is was passed for an official photo, and the second one is of him under the table next to my chair, a place he often likes to sleep in the evening while I’m watching TV.

Before his birthday festivities (like special meals and extra treats), there was something to be taken care of: He desperately needed a haircut, just like back in 2020, but this time I managed to get him groomed before his birthday: Yesterday I took him to a groomer (before and after photos are at the bottom of this post). It took months to get this organised, mostly because of delays of various kinds—especially not being able to find a groomer. However, I also was very uneasy about the whole thing precisely because of all the loss over the past three years. Naturally, everything was fine.

Leo’s still such a happy little guy, although every time he gets groomed he’s manic, and a bit neurotic, for several days afterward, I have no idea why, but this has been the case ever since he came to liove with us. I hoping that I’ll be able to keep his fur under control so maybe he won’t have to have traumatic grooming experiences, or, not as often, at least.

He also still loves to sleep on my lap, and he’s been doing it since we got home yesterday, so he seems to have forgiven me for taking him to the groomer. Well, maybe he’s just forgiven me a bit.

He’s really a good companion, and certainly keeps me entertained much of the time. He really is a good boy—most of the time—and that’s an old family joke that Nigel and I would say about many of our furbabies over the years. Some things don’t change, after all.

Happy Fifth Birthday, Leo!

Related:

Leo is four – 2021
Leo is three – 2020
Leo is two – 2019
Leo is one year old – 2018
Another new addition
All blog posts tagged “Leo” – All the posts I’ve talked about him

Left: Before we left for his haircut, and back in the car afterward, right.