Farewell, Snoopy

We’ll see you on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

Last picture, taken 5/4/2009 2:41 PM

Snoopy crossed over this morning, after Sally and I went to say our last goodbyes.

Snoopy was a different kind of cat. Probably the smartest cat I’ve ever known; you looked in those eyes and you knew there was a brain back there that was thinking right back at you. He was the only cat I ever knew who came when you called his name, or when you whistled. He loved to play fetch. He had, hmm, an indominatable will — if you took him off the counter, he’d jump right back up. Continuously.

He loved to play in the water. This is probably because he was a Turkish Van, a breed otherwise known as “the swimming cats”. He played “mommy” to Tiggr when we first brought Tiggr home, and pretty much for the rest of his life after that. He was a silly boy and we loved him very much, not the least because he picked us — first picking Sally when she visited Cats’ Haven 15 years ago looking for a black cat, and then picking me 9 years ago when I first visited Sally’s apartment. The latter was a fairly momentous occasion because Snoopy despised the mill run of human males, but he came up and did the figure-8 around my ankles when I came through the door, and then let me pick him up and pet him — and then when I sat down on Sally’s couch, he jumped in my lap. Sally called her mother the next day and said, “I think I have to marry this guy.”

He was never a big cat — I can’t remember him ever weighing more than 10 pounds, if he ever got that big, and he was under 6 when we took him back to the vet on Tuesday. Our best guess is that some breeder decided he was the runt of the litter, and coupling that with a viral infection in his left eye that never went away, he wasn’t ever going to be show or breeding material. In any case, he was one of nearly 100 cats left in the Cats’ Haven van overnight by an anonymous, er, “donor”, just over 15 years ago.

He was a pain in the ass who took up far more bed space than a little guy like him was actually entitled to — and when he slept, he slept HARD.

I’d gladly give up half my side of the bed to have him back.

We love you, Snoopy. Fare ye well in that undiscovered country on the far side of the Bridge.

I don’t normally do this kind of thing (and that’s why it’s below the fold), but we would be thrilled and gratified if anyone was moved to make a donation in memory of Snoopy to Cats’ Haven. Cats’ Haven will also gladly accept material donations:

Dry and canned food
Scoopable and clay litter
Cleaning supplies
Postage stamps
Gift cards (Marsh Grocery, Petco, Petsmart, Pet Supplies Plus, Target, WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, gasoline cards)
Please call 317-925-7001 if you have anything to donate.