Goodbye, Sweet Dozy

On February 15, 2013, I made the toughest decision of my life: I had my loving cat, Dozy, euthanized. She had not been doing well for a couple of weeks, walking with difficulty and refusing to eat or drink on her own. The vet could not figure out what was going on. Dozy did get a little better and was eating and drinking a tiny bit, but she was definitely not staying hydrated on her own. Watching and hearing her walk made me cry. She had a really rough evening on Valentine's Day and I knew the time had come to let her go.

My friend Alice suggested having a wake and telling funny stories about Dozy, but I would have to clean the house to do that! So I thought I would share some here:

• When I lived in Battle Creek, my friend Evanne stayed with me while transitioning between jobs. One morning we couldn't find Dozy. Turned out Evanne had closed up the sleeper sofa with the little stinker underneath it!!! Dozy of course looked very indignant when we found her.
• Also in that apartment, I would let her on the balcony on her leash. One day I looked and no cat. The leash was going off to the side of the balcony, so I went out and found Dozy clinging to the side of the building on the wood shingles!!! That scared the crap out of me and ended unsupervised balcony time!
• Dozy loved lights & reflections. Karla bought her a Laser Mouse and it was hilarious - Dozy would chase it and wait patiently when it went "under" furniture.
• When a coworker was cat sitting for me during one of my trips, she came in one day to find a poop carefully placed on the bathroom sink! Guess we know what Dozy thought of her....!
• Dozy's taste in food was unusual for a cat. She loved crackers, sweet and savory. She loved pork. She always tried to chew on the ends of onions (no!) and get at avocado peels (no!). And if I was silly enough to eat Twizzlers in her presence, I would often discover a cat nibbling on the end that was not in my mouth.
• When she was younger, Dozy would stick her head in to any unguarded glass or cup and start drinking.

There were of course so many little moments when she would do something ridiculous and have me laughing. Moments  so small they've drifted off in to nothing more than the memory of a smile. And through the sadness that I feel shines the memory of a smile and the love that I had in my life for nearly 20 years. I always told Dozy she was the Best Kitty Ever and for me, she always will be.