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Written by Jimmy Frost
Traveling on unfamiliar roads, with weather conditions that could deteriorate any second, no pull-offs on the side of the road to take a break, always left me with a feeling of hopelessness and utter despair. I never thought I would top that feeling, until the time when I once again decided to take Serenity (we call her Sari) aboard with Zoey for a haul. Big mistake on my part for by the time Zoey worked herself up into a lather, I was to far into the trip to turn around. Having performed this experiment before, I figured (wrongly) that Zoey would behave, but that wasn't in her vocabulary that trip, and the farther we got down the road, the more apparent this fact became.
I got as far as a place called "South of the Border" on I-95. There's a not-too-well-known truck stop there where I've always been able to find a hole to crawl into for some much-needed undisturbed sleep. A few hours would be all I'd need, so I put my truck into idle and crawled into the bunk. Zoey, reluctant to move off of her sleeping spot to make room for me hissed and growled her displeasure. But after a couple of gentle nudges, she backed off and lay down near my feet. Sari had taken refuge in the litter pan, probably remembering the last time where this seemed to be a safe haven from Miss Hiss herself!
Sari wasn't coming out for love, blood or money.
Later on that morning, when the alarm went off things were status quo. Zoey, sitting on the bunk glaring at me, and Sari still hiding in the litter box. By the time we got over to the receiver, Sari had ventured out of the litter box and with Zoey's permission, began exploring the cab of the truck again. But wherever Sari decided to lie down that didn't sit well at all with Zoey. Sari finally settled on the spot right on top of Zoey's carrier which I keep secured to the passenger seat. Sari liked the perch. To Zoey, it was desecration. She waited her chance and when Sari went over to the food and water dish, Zoey threw a conniption fit and that sent Sari scurrying back into the litter box.
Sari had to eat and drink or this trip would be quite costly for me. Not to mention I would be hard-pressed to explain my layover for 4 unscheduled hours while the vet examined Sari! I ended up having to give Zoey "time-out" in her carrier, locking her down. Since Sari had gotten the message that Zoey's bowls were not to be touched, the food I had set out for Sari in these bowls remained untouched. I ended up setting out two "reserve" bowls for Sari.
As an apology for Zoey's bad hostess skills, Sari got an extra portion of Fancy Feast. I added a little bit of cream to the food. Cream is her favorite treat. It was the best I could do under the circumstances, for Zoey had clearly sent the message that she runs the roost!
After breakfast, we received orders to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina. There we would pick up a load of food products bound for Albany, New York, delivering after the holidays.
Once we arrived and I had backed into the loading dock (the dock was situated next to the employee break area). Zoey heard the voices, popped her head up to the window, and receive her due accolades about how cute she is. This appeared to appease her wounded ego, until Sari jumped up on the dashboard and promptly stole the spotlight. When Sari appeared the ohhh's, ahhh's of adoration appeared to be more than Zoey's feminine genetic programming could stand. When I got back in the truck, Sari was back in the litter box.
I'd been trying to show Zoey more attention the entire trip. It became clear that Zoey was jealous, possessive AND territorial. How dare an interloper come in her truck, stealing her show, getting attention from her daddy! In other words, Zoey was miffed!
After a brief stop in North Carolina for one-hundred-and-twenty-five gallons of diesel to be pumped into my rig (while I bided my time by cleaning and scooping out the litter pan) we were ready to head for home.
Zoey's mood improved gradually the closer we got to home base. Once we arrived, Sari seemed relieved to have survived the ordeal and Zoey acted like nothing at all had happened. My guess is that Zoey didn't want my Mrs. to suspect that she had mistreated and terrorized Sari during the past 28 hours.
On the last leg of the run, Sari was perched on top of the carrier, looking at the scenery passing by. I suspect Sari would have enjoyed the trip had I left Zoey at home. But for better or for worse, Zoey and I are a team.
Sure, she got jealous but the end result was nothing too terrible happened, except that I had a hard time explaining to Kim why Sari's long Persian fur was peppered with kitty litter. But during the trip, I had two beautiful females that were vying for my attention at every turn. Even if these females are fur-bearing, the contest between them to gain my affection became quite amusing. . Although I must admit, I had to surrender a lot of treats to Zoey to earn her forgiveness! Thank the Good Lord that Zoey does not know what jewelry is!
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