Hello All. I'm completly lost & devasted with the death of our Skipper
just Friday 06/13/08. We got him about 18 months ago & I kept him in
until about two months ago when I decided he could go out with our 9
year old female Maxie. We live in a very quiet seaside community of
Magnolia, MA. (part of Gloucester) & live on street with minimal
traffic. I work in sales & most of the time I work out of my home
office. Friday morning I left for 2 hours & needed to work on my small
outboard for our inflatable. It was 11:15AM when I came home & I got
the outboard tuned-up. Around 12:30PM I called out for Skipper. I
should mentioned that he would come running whenever I called for him.
I didn't come. I called again 30 minutes later & thought it was
strange he wasn't showing up @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
the back door expecting him treats that
he loved so dearly. I said to myself, he's out checking out his
territory, he'll be back soon enough.
Around 2:15PM a friend of mine came by on his scooter (I own one
aswell) & asked if I wanted to take a quick ride into town. I said
"Sure..but I mentioned I was a tad worried about Skipper" I went along
my business. John stopped by 20 minutes later & then I thought I
should look around for him. I went into the backyard & called & again
I thought he would be waiting after my hour long cruise. When I
returned I thought something was just "Off" I went to the side of our
house & found Skip sitting under a tree. I said "Hey Skip, there you
are, then...nothing" Within 2 seconds I knew something was very wrong.
Picked him up & he was gone. Not a mark on him, just a little grass in
his mouth & very slightly stiff (not much) I thought for a minute he
was still alive, but my friend said "Alex...He is gone" I was
screaming "No...No..Not Skip" I held onto him for around 10 minutes &
it had not really hit me yet.
I called my wife @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
work & told her the horrible news. She left work
ASAP. When I felt his body everything appeared to be in order. No
broken bones, no blood just looked like he was sleeping. Then I
thought he ate some grass that maybe was just fertilizied or something
like that. I called my local Vet & brought him in to get some
questions answered. They were so very, very kind to me. I went outside
for about 20 minutes & simply broke down in the parking lot. I'm a 42
male & I can't remember the last time cried. The pain is so
overwelming. I spoke with the Vet & she said Skipper's right rib cage
had trauma to it. I asked if he suffered & she didn't think so. I tend
to agree because he was about 25 feet from the road on our property &
I know if he had the strength he would have made it to the back door.
What kills me is that I didn't go to the side of the house! Or didn't
really do a "real" search for him! I was only 15 feet away from where
I found him when I was working on the outboard. Another thing is he
didn't meow, he kind of had this very low chrip of sorts. So, I don't
know if he was trying to cry out to me or not. I asked the Vet what
time she thought he died, she thought (2-3 hours) & it was 5:30PM
then. So it could have happened before or after I left for my scooter
ride. I think it happened before I left, which kills me to on end!
We got Skipper because our 10 year old male (Kovax) died of something
called a Thrombosis (blood clot) & wanted Maxie to have a friend. It
took a year & they got along pretty well all-in-all. This Friday night
my wife & I cried all night & we are both at a totally loss. Maxie was
always my favorite, but Skipper had such a HUGE personality & he
wouldn't give up on me, just always at my side. Saying "Look at
me..aren't I great" I gave them both my love & affection equally but
Skipper just overwelmed me with his love! A few months ago my wife
said "My god...that cat loves & adors you" You see..being @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
home most
of the time I had the wonderful job of paying attention & nurturing
him. I call him & he would be there within minutes! My wife made me
feel a little better in telling me that I did a great deed in bringing
Skipper up. I cried when she said that. Now my thoughts are
"Why....didn't I keep him in?" I did for the 1st 14-15 months of his
life. Then I felt sorry for him because he would stare at Maxie in the
backyard & seemed kind of unhappy. He would still be here if I did,
but my wife says Skip was happiest when he was outdoors & I must admit
it showed.
Today is almost as worse as Friday night. My wife & I are crying on &
off all day. I felt like I wanted to post my feelings here & get a
"little" off my chest. I know many of you have lost a pet & know the
utter grief we are going through right now. I wished I could have had
him for another 15 years, but Joyce says he is now the "Official Gate
Keeper in Kitty Heaven" With his opening line of "Hey my name is
Skip...What's yours" If I had to sum-up Skipper that exactly what he
say to everyone he met. For those of you who still grieve for your
pets, I can say that my heart belongs to all of you! My hope is that
when I leave this world, my friend Skipper & my family will be there
to greet me.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to me.
Alex
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