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Bidding
farewell to a well-loved pet
December 6,
2007
I've introduced you to my own pets from time to time to share stories
about them and to illustrate a point that I hope you find helpful in
your own personal pet journeys.
 Having two dogs and three cats gives me a great
source from which to
draw. When you have a multiple pet household, particularly one with dogs
and cats, you experience the wide ranging differences between their
distinct behavior patterns.
Dog companions are often in your face, literally. They're goofy balls of
fur, slobbering on you, running between your legs and literally barking
to seek your attention. Our cat companions, on the other hand, seek our
attention in a more delicate, sophisticated fashion. Their ways of
showing us affection are often soft and quiet in nature, such as rubbing
their heads gently against ours or gently kneading us.
It's easy to have our attention diverted away from our gentle felines
toward the canines, even though they all share a special place in our
hearts. That's probably why you never had the chance to meet Buddy, who
my partner and I named in tribute of influential jazz musician Buddy
Bolden. Like Bolden, our Buddy was somewhat unknown as he often shied
away when visitors came to the house.
 But like the innovative music that Bolden created, which we know today
as uniquely jazz, our Buddy was unique. The third pet to come into our
household, he was a kitten without a mother that had to be taught things
by humans. We had to show him how to use a litter box by using our feet
to guide him to the box.
We also had to show him how to groom, using warm, moist towels to gently
clean his face, tail and paws. He was a quick learner.
The two established felines in the house resisted Buddy's charm. So,
when he was about 6 months old, he was drawn to the pit bull puppy we
brought home, and treated her as a new toy. To this day, the pit bull
still licks and laps at her food like a cat, just the way Buddy showed
her. And Buddy enjoyed curling up with the 60-pound pit bull he helped
us raise.
Buddy also loved to jump. He'd find the highest cabinet in the kitchen,
wait for the refrigerator door to open, and leap in one smooth move to
the top of the cabinet. From that vantage point he had a good view of
all the activities surrounding him.
 Just
last week, like Buddy Bolden, our Buddy died at too early an age. Just 6
years old, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor that had grown to an
untreatable size by the time he began showing symptoms. Buddy was a
unique, laid-back soul. He was a cool cat who never complained, even up
until the end.
I regret that you never had a chance to meet him until now. But maybe
you can picture him just as we did when we first brought him home. I'm
sure his spirit is still here, playing and running and jumping.
- Gloria
Dauphin
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