I am a police dispatcher. On January 2, 2003, we got a call from a woman who reported that someone had dumped off two 3/4-grown kittens by her house. This particular town has no animal shelter and the police dept. doesn’t typically handle cat calls. But, this officer had a softspot for animals and knew how animal calls affect me, so he went. He called from the house and asked if I would take them. It was a cold night and they were very hungry. How could I say no?
Bootsie was named after two former cats who had been in my family named Boots. He was black and white, as were they. Happy is gray and white and I called him Happy because of Happy New Year.
They immediately took over my heart. Unlike most new pets, they never were nervous or disoriented. They acted like they’d lived their all their lives. They knew the layout of the house, made immediate friends with the other cats, etc.
That first night, Bootsie slept on my shoulder. If I turned my head or rolled over, he came around to the other side so as to have his face to my face. And, he’d purr like the dickens.
He was so sweet and always the peacemaker with the other cats, too. He and Precious were best friends. Happy was his brother and they were great friends, too.
In early April, he was diagnosed with dry F.I.P. I had lost a cat last year to wet F.I.P. and knew the devastating, horrible progress of this awful virus. I prayed for more time with him. I expected a few days, I got nearly a month. He hung on for a month without a lot of change other than losing weight. Then, he took a turn for the worst. I had him euthanized May 6, 2003. It was a hard decision, but I couldn’t let him suffer like my other cat had. He was in pain. He was my friend and I owed him that gentle death rather than suffering.
Booter, Thank you so much for blessing my life for the short time you did. You gave me so much joy and I hope that I gave you joy, too. I know you knew I love you and I know you loved me back.
I love you always. With my whole heart, in fact
| Bootsie |
| 6, May 2003 |
| Becky Warner |