Remembering Old Friends

I’ve been looking through photographs for this blog and ran across some pictures of old friends – this week’s post is about the two cats who were already part of our family when Rocko came along.

Big Kitty was found as a kitten behind a shopping center a week before Christmas. In retrospect we realized that he was probably discarded because he played with someone’s decorations – over the years he maintained a noticably wide berth around the tree. At the time, we thought he was old enough to find his way back home (if he had one) so we decided not to name him until we were sure he was going to stay. We called him Kitty until the next one came along seven years later, then he became Big Kitty and the new one was called Baby Kitty. Baby Kitty came to us from someone who took in a pregnant momma cat.

Everyone had real names, made up on the spot when we were walking into the vet’s office. Big Kitty was Yeller, Baby Kitty was Snowy Junior the First – both names picked by their people-brother. As a side note, I originally wanted to name Rocko Red Dog but by then everyone had had enough of our naming system – my sister said it was a wonder I didn’t name my child Hey Kid.

Pets form their own bonds. Big Kitty never left his people-brother’s side, but I shared Baby Kitty with Rocko. She was standoffish to me, but would climb into bed after I was asleep and snuggle up. She spent most of her time with Rocko.

In the end, Rocko knew she was sick. We said our goodbyes and made a difficult trip to the vet. When I came home, I started putting her bowls away. With that sense that animals have, Rocko knew she was gone forever. He sat by her food and howled in a way I haven’t heard since that day, it still gives me chills to think about it. Love crosses all boundaries and Rocko knew what it was like to lose someone he loved.

Many of us have known the joy of having a best friend with fur and paws and the sadness of losing them. We can take comfort in the knowledge that our lives and theirs were forever changed for the better when they came into our homes and hearts.

Finding these pictures reminded me of how much.