After I lost my almost 14-year-old dog, Touch, last month, I was able to go to my local humane society's pet loss support group a couple times. At the end of each session, we would take turns sharing a fond memory about our pet. I thought it would be nice to hear what special memories everyone here has as well.

For me, everytime I sat cross-legged on the floor in the living room, Touch would see me from the kitchen and automatically come to me. Then, he would lay down, resting his right side of his face on my left leg. It was always this way. And everytime I got up and moved a few feet and sat down cross-legged again, he would follow and lay his head on my leg. It was just a cute, loving action that Touch would show, and I will always remember it.

What are some special memories of your pet?

it's been over 10 years now, but i remember Tribby learned how to fetch various objects and actually bring them back to me (after "beating them up" a bit, of course). his favorite item was a ragged mound of yarn that he would belly-scratch with his back claws. he was a grumpy old salt ive not had a cat do that since...good reason why one of his nicks was TribbyDog...he thought he was a dog.

Back when Milo was a young dog, I would take him with Nori and Marley to a large, open field for a favorite game of "fetch".

They all knew the drill and would wait at my side with anticipation and unadulterated joy - I would throw the ball and watch them tear across the field.

Invariably, one of the other two would grab the ball and come running back to me. But my sweet Milo would still be gallumping off in the distance, searching for the already retrieved toy.

Always the optimist, I think he believed each time that "today, I will be the one to find the ball and bring it back."

I miss his endless spirit.

Oh my goodness---I have had so many cats that have gone away---and each one of them had their own personality--

Our last dog we had lived to be 16---he passed away many moons ago--but Pooch was a sweetheart--he was part Lab and part Spaniel and was very lovable--One of the things I remeber about him was that you could put "people clothes" on him and he would let you do it----

And I remeber him eating a bagful of chocolate kisses my husband had wrapped and put under the Christmas tree--he defied the thing about dogs and chocolate--

Our cats??
Garfield would wait my my husband's office door until he got home---
Stash--loved to go on camping trips with us
Red--he thought he was a dog--we could put him on a leash and he would be good-
He loved to travel in our camper too and would sit outside with us with all that race
track activity and noise going on---

There's more--but I would go on forever----

Thanks for helping me remember these things

Our Sir Francis was crazy about Tommy Cat. For more than 7 years he would follow Tommy everywhere and sit next to him. It occasionally drove Tommy nuts.

that is just too cute. photo made my day..thanks.

the fondest memories i have of my girls are, when kitten was about two years old we had gotten poohbear, now pooh was about 8 weeks old and kitten being an only cat at the time had a sort of hard time adjusting to a bouncey ball of fluff with legs..well one day my hubby and i were in our bedroom watching tv and poohbear was on the bed watching kitten walk around on the floor below the bed..poohbear got a running start crouched down and took a flying all four paws spread eagle leap, i mean she got some serious air and landed on kitten's back, of course kitten was like what the heck just landed on me? and then later that night we heard slurping noises flipped on the light only to see kitten lying on her side nursing poohbear with her front paw nestled around her body.. sweetsest sight i ever did see and of course no camera in sight!! they were best friends from that point on..
i miss you girls..

When I was spooning the wet food into four dishes, Twitch would already be on the counter where I fed him. As I was scooping, I'd tip my face down and he'd gently bump my cheek with the top of his head. It was as private and special as a quick kiss with a sweetheart. As he and I were learning to blend him into the family, it was a precious thing only he and I did, our little gesture that we were tight. I so miss that head bump.... ~Kimberly

I've started to put a scrap book of memories togther of my happy times with Squeaky. I've filled a photo album with pictures, little tokens, like fur and rose petals from her tree. I've got some pink heart shaped post-its and written down one happy memory on each and placed them inside the album. It's made me realise in my time of grief that we had SO MANY happy times and I'm sure she'd want me to remember these times and not agonise over her passing. Happy memories - where do I start? The most special would be the quiet and private moments we would share, as Mink&WillowsMom said. I'd kiss her head and she'd rub her face into my hair. She'd start 'talking' to me as soon as she saw me and her tail would shoot up in anticipation of a stroke and a kiss. She'd purr so loudly when she was sleeping.

I'm sure our babies would want us to remember these happy times together x

X for Squeaky (8 days today)

My Tigerpaws was a tiny foundling, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand when she came to live with us. The first night she was with us, we had some kitten food in a saucer, all mushed up and thinned with some water. Tigerpaws had her front paws in the saucer, partially in her food and was eating voraciously, growling and gnashing all the while. I reached down and petted her on her back. She turned around a chomped down on my finger, still growling and gnashing and the little stinker bit so hard she drew blood! I knew at that time she was going to make it, and she was with us for 18 years. She will have been gone a year in Sept when she went to the Happy Hunting Ground.


Be Well,

Mark

When my cat Twubbles died in 97, I thought I would never recover, but I did. He was the smartess cat I ever encountered in my life. He fetched like a dog, and growled if someone was by the front door. He also liked to box with my hand, he had a south paw (no pun intended) that would make Sugar Ray proud.

Funny story, my roomate did not like Twubbles, and he did not like my roomate.
My roomates g/f made his lunch with those small paper bags, you get about 100 in a bag. She kept them on top of the refridergater. Well Twubby put bite holes in every single bag. Twubbles also stole his lunch one day, and we never found it. Twubbles was an indoor cat, lol.

When I think of the things he did, it makes me laugh, Twubble's, and Bue's pic is over my computer area, but then they were they before they passed also. I included a pic of Twubbles. His name is because he caused trouble, and he was a
bit tubby.
I posted to you because our cats did the same thing, fetch, Twubbles nickname was Twubby, its been 10yrs since he died, wow.

Thank you for reminding me about the good times

Oh my, they're such good judges of character, aren't they? I once had a fellow come visit for a tryst. He and I had been dancing around the issue for years, but we were never in the same city at the same time while single. Finally, he was going to be in Seattle for a conference, and we planned the liaison. He arrived at my house, opened up his suitcase flat on the bed, and within a half an hour, my beloved kitty Tinsica puked right in the middle of his clothes. I was aghast.

Within 24 hours, I was agreeing with her.

Years later, I should have listened as soon as she started peeing in my husband's shoes. Would have saved me a lot of time....

Tinsica, may you rest in peace baby! 4/26/84 - 9/5/02

I miss CoCo's and my morning routine and him going with me to do errands.

This made me laugh! It's so true, though. Othello was always afraid of new people in our house and would hide under the bed when visitors came, but one time a friend of mine who absolutely loves cats came to visit and he came right out and plopped down in front of her to get pet. He knew he would be safe with her!

I've been waiting to post in this thread because I can't decide which of my memories to post. I have so many great memories of Othello - he was always so full of life and always got into everything. Every so often my husband and I will just ask each other, remember the time Othello did this or that, and we're able to laugh about those things now. One we thought of last night is how he would tear some of my books off the bottom of my bookshelf and then crawl back in behind the remaining books to nap. It always drove us crazy, but now we miss the sound of my books falling on the floor.

Another favorite memory I have is how he used to just walk on everything. If I took some paper out and put it on the table, he would jump up, walk on it, and eventually plop down for a nap. A few weeks before he got sick he jumped up on the counter where I was making a sandwich and walked on my bread, leaving a pawprint right in the center!

I miss him so much. Four years just wasn't enough time with a soulmate animal like Othello.

Love all the stories everyone. Our furry friends were so wonderful. Ken, love the pic. This is one of my favorite memories of Max. My mom hosted a family barbecue. Max was in his glory tons of kids to play with. Suddenly he disappeared which was strange because he never would leave the kids sides. So I went on my search for him. Last place I checked was my house, the side door was opened. Strange I thought I know that it was closed so I looked back over my shoulder everyone was still back in my parents yard. So was his sister, she was usally the one who knew how to open doors. Shrug my shoulders oh well maybe I did leave it open. So I go up the one flight of stairs and I hear Max comming down from the upper stairs. We met at the main level and he was all out of breath, tail wagging. I asked him what are you doing over here Max? Are you thirsty ? I got him water while wondering why was he upstairs? If he was thirsty why hadn't he drunk the water in the yard. Why was he even in the house?, He would never ever give up the opportunity to be outside and with kids? Oh well, put it out of my mind and we rejoined the party. Later that night as I lay exhausted in bed a heard a strange noise. I ask my husband half asleep did you hear that? I think we have a mouse. He said no it was only Maxes tail thumping on the floor. Sounded logical, I go to bed. Next day, Max eats, goes out to the bathroom, then goes back upstairs and into the bedroom. (Which is also a never.)I figure with a smile on my face poor baby the kids wore him out. I cleaned the house still no Max. I go up to check on him thinking he's sleeping. Out of the corner of my eye I see this white blur dash behind the dresser. I didn't know what I had just seen. I look at Max he's sitting there wide awake, tail thumping, looking happily at the dresser. He looks at me and I swear he was smiling. What the heck I thought why didn't he bark at it or go and investigate what it was. I look behind the dresser. It's kind of dark, I don't know what's back there or if anything will jump out at me so I go and get a flashlite. What I discovered was a little bunny. How had it gotten in? Why was it up in the bedroom? I knew that Max and my husband had found a nest of bunnies while doing my parents yard in preparation for the picnic so I figured maybe my husband took one. When my husband got home he swore up and down that he had not brought the bunny home. If it wasn't him, then who? Who indeed. Finally all the pieces came together. Maxes odd behavior now made sense. He had brought the bunny home during the picnic. I felt horrible for having to put the bunny back in it's nest after Max went through all that trouble of bring it home and hiding it. But it was a wild animal after all what right did we have in keeping it. But, the memory of the kidnapped bunny I will forever keep. Take care k9pal

a long time ago, my dad came home with " Freya", the boxer-girl, the only dog
I ever had in my life
we used to have a very special game together
she would scratch at the door of my room, 5, or 7, or 10 times a day
I would say........hello, anyone here ? I don`t know who wants to see me !
and then,
I would open the the door, and Freya was there..............
and the kisses, the huggings, the jumping up and down would have no end
and I would say " Freya, such a long time I could not see you, I am
sooooooo happy, that you are here with me"
Eva

One of my fondest memories of Lucy was the way she would take up the bed when she'd sleep with me. She was a small dog - part poodle, part terrier (though what kind of terrier, I'm not sure), but once she was up on that bed, she owned it, covers and all. I used to count myself lucky if she didn't push me all the way off during the night. She never actually did that, but there was always a chance, wasn't there?!

-- Michelle K.

OMG, that is so frekin funny Mink&WillowsMoml. thank you for sharing that story.

I have one for you. My ex b/f came over one night, he was one of those macho types. We got into bed to watch some tv, and I got up to go into the kitchen for something to drink. the front door was very close to the kitchen.

I looked down on saw something on the floor. I'm a bit of a neat freak so I turned on the light to see what it was. My cat Twubby took my b/f's underware from the bedroom to the front door. I guess it was his way of saying get the hell out. I informed my b/f what Twubby did, and my b/f said, either I go or the cat goes.

Needless to say, I was like SEEYA! He did try to get back with me, but to no avail.

Thats my Twubby

Silly, silly boy. He should have known what a silly ultimatum that was... ~Kim

I love your kitty pics, they're beautiful! Yes he was a silly man.

well, once again, a long time ago
my beloved aunt took care of our cats
since she was getting more than 70 years
she could not remember the exactly number of cats she was responsible for
there were 2 of them
and she was preparing fresh food (nothing else available by that time)
for them, saying,
oh, all of them were here, the grey one, the black and "the other"
my dear aunt, there were only 2 cats, your meals made them perfectly happy

eva

i do love your stories about the cats a lot
feeling and showing you about handling your bf`s
thanks a lot for sharing
cats do know a lot, before we realise, don`t they? eva

One of the funniest things our huge gray boycat did was to go after my mom's breakfast. My mom and dad were visiting several years ago. They are elderly and live in another state so it is a treat to see them. They love our cats too! My mom sat down at our corner nook to have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Orion was extremely food oriented and jumped up on the table and headed for her bowl and got his nose pretty close in her bowl... She gently pushed him back and said "No that is my breakfast, kitty!" and he just started gong back toward the bowl. Over and over they did this little dance, my mom was laughing cause he was so hungry for her food. She did not even mind that he was on the table!!!! In our house the cats rule, they go ANYWHERE they want. I know some people freak about cats on the table or counters, but my mom just chuckeled and to this day we laugh about it.
Orion's Mommy

R.I.P. My babyboy...Orion 1/97-10/20/07

It's raining here today and it makes me remember this story: Misty loved to play outside in the courtyard of our apartment. One day it rained really hard and it had stopped for a hile, but I knew it was going to rain again. He hated to get wet.

I told him he couldn't outside, he begged and pleaded so of course he went out.

15 minutes later I was out there with an umbrella, I located him under a bush, then held the umbrella for him and walked him to the apartment.

Of course, I was soaked!!!

I recently lost my baby girl, Niko, after complications from her pregnancy. I am still grieving and really depressed most of the time. But, I am able to look at her pictures and remember the good times with less tears.

One of my best memories of Niko was going absolutely everywhere together, we were inseperable. Shortly before she passed we went on a trip from Wyoming to South Dakota and she really loved that "us" time. She was always so excited to go "bye bye". I didn't even have to say it anymore, I just had to look at her then at the door and she turned into a maniac. The other thing I always try to remember is that Niko was always smiling. And she loved to sit on my tub with me whenever I took a bath.

I have many, many more good memories of my Niko, but we would be here all night. Thank you for giving me the chance to look back at our good times. I feel better.

Lisa
"Niko's mom"

my sweet old doggy Sweeny had to be put to sleep the other day. i am a mess, and even remembering the best times makes me sad, but i don't want to forget. i lived with my sister when we got him and we worked together. Sweeny slept with my sister and in the mornings they would both come to wake me up for work. As soon as my sister opened my door Sweeny would come bounding across the room, collar jingling, happy as can be to see me. That helped me wake right up in the mornings so I could hug and love him.

I miss him.

These posts are so funny. Thank you all for sharing. It does help me remember the sheer joy of Bonny. Bonny was a little silly girl. That day in the shelter in October 1992, she stuck her paw out and gave it the "hey you, over here, I'm the one you want" gesture. Of course she went home with me that day. I'll never forget the drive home. She sat in my lap with her little paws on the steering wheel the entire way. Thank God the paparazzi weren't around!

Bonny'sMom

Just a few minutes ago I was reminded once again of my baby boy Goliath who is a chihuahua. Since it has been awhile since I cleaned in my puter room, where he and I spent at the computer with him in my lap, I decided to vaccuum and dust. When I went to polish the wood chest, I noticed the lower left side of the chest for the first time in years. Goliath rounded the corner off of it when he was just a very small puppy. He only weighed less than a pound at that time. Seeing that corner of the chest made me smile about him for the first time without making me cry.

When my little Goliath was just a puppy I had to teach him distraction to keep him out of things. So, I would take his little rope toy with the shaggy end and tickle his sweet little face with it and he would forget all about whatever it was he was into before. One day I was sitting in my chair doing some cross st*itch and he jumped up and dropped his little football in my lap. When I reached for the football, he promply grabbed my embroidery floss and took off with it. He let me know in a big way that he could distract me as well if I was doing something he didn't want me to do.

Raggs has been gone 18 months now and there are so many memories of him. even though he had a big back yard he would want me to take him for walks around the neighborhood many times a day. when I go out very early in the morning to get my paper I still feel him with me and on cold mornings saying "Raggsie hurry up I'm freezing" Oh how I would be willing to freeze anytime to have him again. Also he love to sleep at my feet while I was in my big chair and all the antics he would do when waking up stretching, sneezing etc. When the grandchildren would come he would jump in my lap not wanting me to give them too much attention as he was first. I miss him so and always will.
Enjoyed reading others stories

Raggs Mom
Joanne

As I watched my husband take the garbage out this morning I was reminded of a time when Goliath, Gidget, my hubby and I were out taking a walk. (My furrykids are chihuahuas with large ears)

There was a young boy taking the garbage out with his dad. As they stood at the curb the dad said to his little boy "Look at the doggies Adam" when his son prompty responded with Daddddddd...."Those aren't puppies they're bunny rabbits!!!

It was 3 months ago today that my Goliath passed into God's hands. And as I am thinking of him on this day, I recall the night before he died.

My husband was out of town and I wanted to spend some quality time with both Goliath & Gidget. So, I went to the video store and got Firehouse Dog for the 3 of us to watch.

I snuggled up in my chair and quilt with Goliath & Gidget along with a snack for myself and also brought them a few treats.

The 3 of us watched the entire movie without moving once as we stayed warm by the fireplace. We were all so cozy and happy together and I am so thankful that I had that one last time with the 3 of us together.

As Valentines Day is coming next week............I am remembering one of the sweetest memories I have of my husband always either making or buying a card for me from Goliath & Gidget.

For the last 10 years I have received and saved each and every card signed by Golaith & Gidget. My hubby dipped their paws in ink so they could sign the cards themselves and then he would attach the cards to Goliath's & Gidgets collars. When I would walk in the door, both of my furry kids would greet me, cards attached. I would pick each of them up and let them smother me with their sweet and loving kisses, as I kissed them too.

This morning at dawn I was awake and got up to go downstairs. As I passed the landing I remembered how much Goliath enjoyed laying there, as he kept watch outside. There is a rubber plant there, and as I looked at the plant the leaves were in such a positon that showed a sillouette of Goliath. Big ears and all.

My first dog died when i was about 3 and i hardly remember him. But i spent the next 30 years dying for a dog. my dad would not have it, and i couldn't afford one in college, and had no yard in grad school.

so when i got Tenzing at the age of 33, well i was ecstatic. He was hit by a car on valentines day, 5 days ago and died in my arms on the way to the vet.

I am not doing very well. I am grieving both for me and for my 20 month old daughter. for although she is not sad, i know she misses him. and it tortures me to think that she will not be growing up with him. they wrestled, chased each other, she rode him and he was the most tolerant dog you could ever imagine.

i will miss his every presence in every part of my day:
poking his head into the shower and getting wet to say hi each morning
him playing fetch with a 1/2 inch piece of pine needle, that is just how obsessed he was
him running over to the vacuum when i said the word and chasing it around
holding him while my daughter cried when i was letting her cry it out and get herself back to sleep
him coming over and leaning into me whenever i cried

i know that time will make this easier, but it will never take away the tragedy. he was only 2 and a half, about 16 in human years and it is just so sad, wrong, unfair, horrible, shocking, brutal, devastating, unbelievable, and i could go on and on....

thank you for listening,

rae

Hi Rae,

I was so, so sorry to read about the loss of Tenzing. I know how it is to lose a pet in such a sudden and brutal way. I was about 10 when my cat, Licorice, was hit and killed by a car. I had picked him out when I was 3 years old; he was nearly euthanized a few months after we adopted him. He had gotten into a nasty "argument" with an outside stray through the screen door of our porch and, being an ignorant little kid I went to pick up up and get him away. Somehow he got out of my arms and over my head. His claws tore my forehead open and I ended up with over 40 st*itches; I still have noticeable scars today. Although I had been seriously injured I knew (even at 4 years old) that it had been an accident and that Licky didn't have an agressive bone in his body. Despite everyone's cries against him I successfully pleaded for his life and he remained my constant companion until that awful afternoon 6 years later. We had been through a lot together and I was completely crushed when I lost him. To this day (I am almost 25) I still think about him and miss him whenever I see a black cat.

Last week I made the decision to put my cat, Toby, to sleep and I am still very much in grieving. He was extremely sweet and really the first cat I ever adopted as an adult. My boyfriend and I treated him like he was our baby and his death has been heartbreaking. I spent the first couple days just sobbing, the pain of missing him was almost physically unbearable. Coming to this forum has been a HUGE help in the grieving process, though, and I hope you gain comfort from telling your story and reading the stories of others. There's a lot of wonderful people on this forum who are more than willing to just listen.

I could keep going but I'm sure I've said plenty already! Again, my sympathy with you and your daughter. You were so lucky to have Tenzing in your lives. Don't ever forget that love does not abide by the boundries of time and space.

All the best and a huge hug....

-Marissa

Marissa,
Thank you so much for your sweet message. I connected with what you had to say since the i think the loss of the first pet is so intense, as yours was with licky, and mine with Tenzing.

I am so sorry to hear about Toby's passing. how old was he? what was your favourite thing about him? is your partner grieving as much as you are? mine is not, which i understand, but sometimes it makes me feel more alone in the sadness.

Luckily, i know that time will soften this blow, and at least i am now over the shock, but i am still tortured that i allowed him off leash that day. i felt he would be ok playing with his dear dog friend and i just wish i could be more forgiving to myself. i suppose this plays a role in putting an animal down as well. at least you have time to prepare, and you know you are doing the right thing, but what a tough decision to have to make.

thanks for your message that love does not abide by normal boundaries. when i cannot sleep (as tenzing helped put me to sleep when he was alive) I call his spirit to me. and though i cannot sense him, it does help me sleep.

wishing you good sleep, and many understanding friends nearby,
rae

Hi Rae,

I'm so glad that my message brought you even the tiniest bit of comfort. You're right - with time the pain will be less intense.

My cat Toby was a little over a year old and we had only had him for about 7 months. He was one of two cats that we have with feline leukemia. We always knew that we our time with him would be limited but his passing was very unexpected and out of the blue. Despite his illness he was clinically healthy and full of boundless energy. Then the week before his death he seemed very tired. We thought perhaps he was feeling a bit under the weather and maybe even had a fever. We didn't start to get concerned until the weekend. By Sunday he was sleeping almost all the time. I spent a large portion of the day laying in bed with him. I spoon-fed him some baby food that night and vowed to get an appointment with our vet the next day. Monday morning was awful. He refused to eat and when I picked him up to lay him in our bed he cried in pain. I brought him some of his favorite treats, desperate to get some food in him but he just looked at them, looked up at me and cried again. I rushed him to the vet a few hours later - they thought he had a urinary blockage. But after examining him they concluded that it was probably the leukemia making its final assault. I ordered xrays and blood tests because I had to know for sure. I spent the next few hours huddled in my bed, alternating between sobbing and dozing. I was praying for a miracle but deep down I knew that I had to prepare myself to say goodbye. Tests confirmed that his spleen was enlarged and his liver was starting to fail. They said that there wasn't even a pain killer that they could give him that would really help. By this point Eric, my boyfriend and Toby's "Dad", was home and we made the decision to have him put to sleep. We went and spent our final hour with him. Although you could see he was in pain he put up a fight. They had to give him several sedatives. The next day I felt immensely guilty; I felt like he didn't want to die and for a few horrific moments I doubted my decision. Could we have done more? Gotten a second opinion? I felt really angry at the universe for putting me in this position. Later I pulled myself together and pushed those irrational thoughts out of my head. There was nothing that could have been done that would have helped him. Keeping him alive would have only been for our sakes and that would have been selfish. We loved him too much to prolong his suffering. The suddeness of his death made it all the worse but I'm thankful, at least, that he didn't suffer for very long.

Toby was like our child and my best buddy. He was always in the middle of things. If I was doing laundry, he had to be there making sure I did things right. If I was in the tub he had to come in and test the water tempature. If I was lying in bed watching tv, there he was. Both Eric and I have had many cats over the years but none like Toby. He was one-in-a-million. Sometimes when I feel myself starting to cry I like to picture him in heaven, a cartoon halo over his head, happily scratching god's white sofa to bits. He was such a naughty boy but his adorable looks let him get away with a lot. It's a silly mental image but it never fails to make me laugh.

Please do not feel guilty over letting Tenzing off his lease. It was a horrible accident that was not of your doing. The exact same thing actually happened to my mother's dog when she was a child. Her father took Hexel for a walk, let her off her lease and then tragedy struck. To this day he feels bad about it, which is understandable, but he let his guilt overwhelm him and he never had another pet again. Don't make that mistake! Just like good people, sometimes bad things happen to good animals, whether it is a disease or accident or whatever. It doesn't make sense, it hurts like hell, but it's not our faults. All we can do is hold on to our wonderful memories and try to take something good out of all the bad. I'm not an overly religious person but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that while people and animals may flow in and out of our lives they always come and go for a reason.

Eric has been grieving as much as I have, which is comforting but outside of him, most people don't understand. My friends and co-workers have been kind and sympathetic but at a certain point you can see the "get over it" look in their eyes. Being alone in sadness is an awful feeling and I know it well; joining this forum has helped immensely becauase there are a hundreds of people here who know exactly what you're going through.

I aplogize for rambling on. Once I get typing I tend to get carried away! If you're feeling up to it please tell us more about Tenzing. What kind of dog was he, what are some of your fondest memories? Post pictures if you can.

Please know that I'm always happy to listen and so many people are here for you!!

HUGS

-Marissa

To reconnect with the original thread of this post, I'd like to share a particularly endearing trait Sable has. From my Missing Forum posts, you may know that I've been struggling to bond with her. She's been hanging out on the top shelf of a tall cat tower, and now every time I reach up to pet her, she licks my fingers. Not just one or two tentative licks, but lately just slathers my fingers with kitty kisses. Seeing that effort on her part is warming my heart immensely. Maybe she really does want to be here with us after all. ~Kimberly

Kimberly,

I read your posts in the Missing forum regarding your story about finding Sable and I'm glad to hear that you two seem to be bonding. With such a loving family, how could she not want to be there with you guys?! Sounds like Miss Sable is really starting to think of you as Mommy.

She's so beautiful - she looks just like one of my parent's cats!

Keep us posted!

-Marissa

As I was looking at my scrapbooks tonight I came across all the vacation pictures of our travels in our RV.

In them is a picture of Goliath in his favorite place up on the dashboard of the RV.
He had a very big pillow with his name on it that he layed on. I loved watching him up there, so peaceful and content. He was in his glory up there taking everything in and enjoying the time.

On one of our spots to stop for the evening, I took Goliath out for a walk. There was another dog that came up to him and began to bark very loud. Goliath prompty ran up my leg, under my shirt, and popped his sweet little face out of the neck of my shirt. My hubby and I laughed sooooooooo hard.

The memories of our camping trips made me so much. It just felt so good to remember and to feel happy and cozy with these memories that will stay in my heart and mind forever.

I will love Goliath til the day after forever......

When I came home this evening I went to the kitchen to make a bowl of salad. As I was cutting up carrots, my Gidget attempted to walk across the kitchen floor. (She hates that floor...LOL) But, she loves carrots.

I was reminded about the times Gidget would run up behind Goliath and nip him in the butt. Goliath learned very quicky that if he ran for the kitchen she would not pursue him and get his butt nipped.

This is just one of many happy memories I have of my Goliath.

When replying to another thread earlier, regarding nail trimming, I was pleasantly reminded of my own memories in trimming Goliath's nails.

When he was just a little puppy I wanted him to have a positive association with nail time. So, I got him a peanutbutter bone that he would lick while I manicured his nails.

Five months later we had Gidget. Nail trimming time became a contest between the two of them. All either of them had to do was see the clippers and the race was on.

Goliath usually won the first sitting as he would jump into my arms and hold his right paw up.

Gosh I miss that sweet little Goliath of mine. Those paws will remain on and in my heart forever.

I'm trying so hard to stop the tears & focus on the good memories. I lost Sammie over 2 months ago & the pain is still acute at times. Now I find myself crying for both kitties (the other I lost over a year ago). It's such good therapy to count my blessings but I still wish I could move faster through the pain.

Thank you, God, for the gift of my wonderful sweet "girls". I was blessed with 17 & 18 years. The deepest & purest love of my life! So many wonderful memories. Litter mates but so different. Tabbie was sweet & simple. Sam was serious & deep. Tabbie was always laying on her back with her belly & feet up. Sam did not sleep much, always on patrol. Every day Tabbie would lick Sam's face & Sam would gently hit her. They had their certain spots on the bed. They each had certain rooms in the house that were theirs. Both delivered toys to use, often howling as they did so. Sam loved to play fetch, over & over & over. Tabbie loved the feather duster so I bought her one at the dollar store so she could carry it everywhere. I'm still finding tiny mice hidden all over the house. Wonderful memories, hopefully the happy times will take over all the sadness I feel.

Thanks for giving me a place to share.

Recently I found one of Goliath's bimple bones tucked into the couch. His little gnaw markings were all over it. He used to spend hours chewing on those bones. I love remembering him chew away in such content and security. He held them between his two front paws to nibble on them, the same way a little human boy would hold up a big sucker. Sometimes I would put one of these bimple bones in the pocket of my pants or robe. Goliath would bury his nose deep into my pocket and not give up until he had retrieved his special possession.

Each time I discover these souvenirs that Goliath left behind, I smile more and more. And you will too.

Tonight I was laying on the couch thinking of how Goliath used to love to lay on my chest or between my knees. I always felt so much peace and security when he did that with me. As I was thinking of how wonderful Goliath felt, my baby Browser jumped up on the couch all by himself for the very first time. He too came right up to my chest, laid his sweet little head on my neck and gave me one of his lushious tiny licks. Then he took Goliath's small urn that I wear around my neck on a chain and held it with his paws and fell fast asleep.

All felt good and right tonight like everybody was here including Goliath.

Charles and I were laughing today remembering how Sadie would leap on his feet when they were under the covers, and proceed to savage his toes. All the while making the funniest little grunts and squeals that sounded for all the world like some little person fighting for their life. Charles would kick his leg high in the air and she would ride it like a cowboy on a mechanical bull. She was such a fiery little thing!


How we miss her.

One of the fondest memories of my Zoe ... was when we were reunited when we were away from each other. Whether it was just coming back from a quick errand or if it two days.... she greeted me with the same excitement, when I came in, she jumped up and down on my leg until I picked her up (in which I did almost immediately) rubbing her back and covering her with kisses, while she licked my face. Oh, how wonderful it was.
~Zoe -Forever In My Heart ~
Deanna

It was always so funny whenever I started singing either with or without the karaoke machine, Bailey would come to me and sit right at my feet or by my side (or in my lap if I was sitting on the floor) and act so thrilled that I was singing to her. She was my #1 fan just as I was of her!

It's also funny to think about how each time my partner or I got out of her sight, she would begin a cute little howl just until you peeked around the corner, out of the shower, over the stair rail, etc. to let her know you were just a few steps away from her.

I loved the idea of writing a special memory on seperate pieces of paper! I will definitely do that to help in my healing process!

The best remembrance, It would have to be every moment I spent with my baby, Arthur. I especially loved how smart he was. He lived with a friend, and everytime there was something new in the house he had to lead me to it. My friend had bought a new va%% While Arthur was there, I looked at the old va%% cleaner, asked if he had fixed it, questioned if it was a new one. Arthur went upstairs, I followed thinking he wanted to go out, he cut thru the kitchen, then the livingroom. There was a brick wall with 2 archways to hold the wood for the the stove. One half had wood the other, where he led me, was a new va%% cleaner. Needless to say my friend couldn't hide anything from me with him around.