We said good-bye to 17+ year old Buddy last Friday. We knew it was coming but I wasn't 100% prepared for it when I took him to the vet for a scheduled appointment...I knew I might not be leaving with him in the same state he was in when I brought him but didn't really let myself believe that as I was shuttling him over to see the doc.
Buddy and sister Chloe came in to my life (our lives, actually) about a week or so after I moved to Ocean City back in 1997, 4 months before we got married. Buddy was so cute as a kitten but always--always--had issues using the litterbox (solids, not liquids). I dealt with it. I loved him!
As a kitten he used to sit on my chest and try to eat my eyelashes (so cute!). I taught him to play fetch which he would do with a scrunched up piece of paper. I remember when we'd play in either of our apartments on hot, humid days, after a few runs he'd sit and pant (ever see a cat pant in the heat???) He got loose on several occasions but always came back...He was the ONLY cat we've had who would come down to see who had arrived=very friendly, not afraid of anyone. He loved laps, taking naps with Mark, sleeping on my head, being brushed, and was an all around happy cat.
It might sound weird, but I loved how his coloring complimented our furniture. His orangey-tan fur looked great atop our green couch and various bedspreads. He was a good looking cat...so very handsome.
A few years ago he started looking unusually scrawny so I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a thyroid condition that required either a pill a day for the rest of his life or a treatment to radio-de-activate (?) the thyroid. We had the cash to spare so off he went to a hospital in Red Bank for a week. When Mark and I picked him up, he purred and showed us his belly the whole way home, so happy and pleased to be back with the ones he loved. As much love as we lavished on him, he gave it right back to us.
A few months ago, after Mark and I learned of Marni's bladder tumor diagnosis and impending departure (she's doing ok, by the way) we started discussing Buddy and realized that he was the 1 constant throughout our marriage. Covenant House came after, Borgata came after, various family members came after, cars/things/traditions/etc. But Buddy? He was there from the beginning.
I received 2 cards from the vet this week...sympathy cards. They know...Honestly, I'm not as sad and down in the dumps as I thought I might be when I'd think of Buddy not being here. Maybe in my age and maturity I've come to better accept that death is a part of life...maybe, as I watched him get skinnier and skinnier and his bathroom habits take a turn for the worse, I prepared myself what was inevitable. But when I come down in the morning it's still tough not to see him there-helping me to greet the day. And when I go to bed at night, I still almost look for him to jump up and rub his face against whatever exposed skin isn't hidden beneath the covers. And last Saturday, when Mark laid down for his pre-work nap, it was tough to know he was doing it solo and not with his "pal".
Pets...fur kids...They are only a part of our lifetimes...but we love them for ALL of their lifetime...and Buddy was lovedlovedLOVED to the fullest. How blessed we were to have him for 17+ years...
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