Homecoming

As almost everyone who knows us is aware, we had to put Footers to sleep on September 16. Footers had lived a very full life, 17 years long. Toward the end, Footers was fighting the good fight. The vet had found a tumor in his chst not even 2 months before and the pressure of this tumor was making it difficult for Footers to breathe. Another side effect of this tumor was that Footers could not eat. His average weight was somewhere around 12-13 lbs, and by the end he weighed in at 8.1lbs. The Old Man was ready to go to sleep and a part of both Cory and I died right there with him. He was our baby and he'll always have a warm place in our memories.

Last Friday, our Footers came home. We were given the option of choosing an urn and an inscription. We decided to memorialize our buddy properly. There is an image of Footers engraved on the urn that now graces our entertainment center. Its not much but its the least we could do. As we both looked at that beautiful, box made of cherrywood and filled with memories, Cory and I came to a single conclusion: its good to have the Old Man home again.

The inscription on his urn reads, "Our buddy forever", which was the best we could come up with at the time. However, Footers was more than our buddy. He was our baby. No, he wasn't a human but he definately was a person. We'll forever remember his youthful playfulness, the way he commanded the house in his later years, and the way he cuddled with us in his twilight.

Bigfoot, his real name, is synonymous with a legend. Footers is a legend to all who knew him. For Cory and I, Footers was bigger than legend and more than a cat. He was a special part of our lives and we'll never be whole again.

We miss you, Old Man. Night-night.