Good Bye Bonkers :-(

I hate to say it, I hate to even think it! But last Sunday, Oct. 25th, Bonkers left us! Stupid human error! Not even her fault! Chuck has some friends that were at the Casita rally in Lake Casitas, CA. Jim and Carol have a cat named Jerry that has been camping with them since he was a kitten. He even rides around in his own stroller greeting everyone. Chuck and I wanted to introduce Bonkers to Jerry and his family. We put her harness and leash on, Chuck carried her holding her in his arms. Amazingly.... the first few minutes went ok. Something happened to spook Bonkers. because all at once she went ballistic and in 10 seconds flat, or less, she was out of Chuck's arms and out of her harness and running in long leaps and bounds down the dry creekbed! It was all over before anybody could react! I immediately went down the edge of the creekbed calling for her........... no response. Just before dark, I went again calling her and she meowed back, but she was too spooked to come out of hiding. the man at the end of the wash, saw her Sunday night and Monday night... so Tuesday Chuck went into Ventura and bought a hav -a-heart trap at Harbor Freight. We had had her carrier set up at where she was last seen on Sunday and Monday nights and all the food was eaten....... but once we set the trap up she was never seen again nor was her food touched. The parks rangers said there are a lot of coyotes there and for her to last 2 nights was amazing. We donated the trap to the park. I am so mad at myself! If I had just kept her in the trailer instead of wanting to show her off...... she would still be with us.

Needless to say, I am behind on this blog. There is a lot to show and tell you of what we have seen and done while in CA. We are now in Barstow at a KOA. Chuck took me to the ghost town of Calico, and it was soooo cool! I took lots of pictures so I will share later. We are on our way home now, with several more adventures and discoveries awaiting us. I will try to get caught up asap. Needless to say, preoccupation with Bonkers has been the main focus. It was so hard to leave yesterday........ but I really think it was no good waiting longer, I think she is gone. But I guess being a meal for a hungry coyote is better than being run over on a roadside. She was loved for 4 years and she will be with us always in our memories.