Friday, April 28, 2006

Snoopy Cowan: 1990-2006


My family got a little smaller today.

My dear cat, while on the surgery table, finally succumbed to cancer. Snoopy was 16 years old, and judging from the constant purr, he was the happiest cat in history. Nathalie and I had adopted him from the pound near Jamaicaway in Boston when Snoopy was only 3 or 4 weeks old, and we were still in school--playful companions for a feisty kitten. Back then Snoopy would scamper up our pants, and he always loved--even as recently as yesterday--to be picked up, mussed up, tummy-rubbed, and slid across the smooth wood floor (he always sauntered back for more). He had a gait that reminded everyone of John Wayne.

Snoopy moved with us 9 times during his life, and each time he settled in immediately, content to call it home so long as we were there. In 16 years, Snoopy cried only if the bedroom doors were closed, since his favorite place to sleep was our bed and then, in recent years, our children's beds. Surprisingly, he let the kids pull his tail and chase him around. Occasionally he brought us tributes from his expeditions (moles, birds, cicadas, mice) but he tried not to hurt them. Considerately, he never brought us fleas or ticks.

My family recalled these happy times today as we buried Snoopy beneath a freshly planted fruit tree.

If you have a feline friend at home, please give her a little extra tuna, in memory of Snoopy. If you don't have a cat (and you're not allergic) go straight to the local chapter of your ASPCA and rescue one. You'll thank me later!

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:15 AM

    Dave - we lost our 14 yr old dog on Tax day. Is real tough. We have 3 more dogs all 2yrs old and under - so we hopefully will not endure this for awhile. She simply would not get up to go outside that morning so we took her into the vet and she died on the table before we could put her down. Very sad.

    We miss her terribly - I have an entry in my personal blog - www.rmortensen.com/blog similar to yours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:06 PM

    Willi and Lisa are very sorry for your loss, and so am I.

    http://calbucci.com/photos/view.aspx?aid=cats&pid=dsc00099.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, sorry about Snoopy. It's something that people without pets don't get, but it's like losing a family member - I'm not at all sentimental, but it's been 6 years and I still miss this guy (http://theogaraj.blogspot.com/2006/02/thing-about-nostalgia-is.html).
    I think I notice another cat in the background - how many totally?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Woa... Farewell, the Bene Gesserit way (fruit in life, fruit from death).

    Unique mysterious stare...

    ReplyDelete