I have avoided this news long enough. It is hard for me to tell.
June, is usually a very happy month for us because we celebrate Bob’s Birthday and our anniversary. This year we suffered two losses.
First to go was Tucker. His demise was not unexpected and even the vet commented he never expected him to live so long after his diagnosis of Cushings and Diabetes two years ago, but he had a very strong will to survive.
Tucker was our *Fur Kid. Smartest, cutest, most entertaining, the list could go on, but I won’t do that to you. 😉
Suffice it to say that he has left a very big hole in our lives. That was the first Tuesday in June.
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- As a pup I found on the internet.
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- He hated bathtime.
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- Tucker, “Why do you let them do this to you, Buddy?”
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- Loved his walks!
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- Liked to burrow in winter…
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- and lay in the sun.
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- Always watched the window at 4:00 for Bob.
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- Loved to, “Play ball!” It was ever about the ball, just ask anyone who met him.
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- Keeping that long nose warm!
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- Hated his sweater even when the ground was frozen!
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- Too old to walk anymore, but he still wanted to GO!
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- Getting FRESH with Claus!
The very next Tuesday Claus didn’t come home for breakfast. He was always at the picture window, pawing on the glass to be let in and mewing fervently, “Me-in, Me-in, Me-IN!”
Most cats are aloof, but not Claus. We will never know for sure, but suspect it was the fox or coyote that have been visiting the chickens in our neighborhood. I chills my heart to think of it.
Claus was a lover. He always wanted to be in your lap, and purred the loudest of any cat we have ever had. He was gimpy, couldn’t climb trees, and loved his comfort!
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- Handsome.
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- Never late for breakfast.
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- Loved to hide…
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- sometimes in plain sight!
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- Kitty inspector, “Uh, mom, the paint’s not dry.”
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- “Yup, yur doing a great job on this here washer.”
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- “What?”
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- Playful!
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- Put up with a lot from Tucker!
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- Left a mark on our hearts…
❤ They are gone, but not forgotten. ❤
~*~*~*~
*I’ve heard some people make jokes about us old folk who think of their pets as “fur-kids”. However, for some of us they fill/filled that empty place that children might have if you’d been able to have them. I mightn’t have said it before, but now realize, that Tucker and Claus were our two very special ‘fur-kids’.
Life on the Farmlet 
Dear, Lynda. I am so terribly sorry. Our 2 dogs and 2 cats are our critter kids; they are family. I know exactly how you feel. What makes it doubly difficult for you (if it is even possible to be more difficult) is to lose two almost at the same time. I am sending huge hugs.
Lindy
Thank you so much, Lindy. And yes, losing two was a real sucker punch. Hence, I waited so long to speak of it.
I truly understand, by this age I have had time to go through several dogs and their demise. So hard.
Thank you, Fran. If I’m not mistaken you have a darling new pup now; don’t you? We are waiting for a bit before we get another little guy for many reasons, but one of the important ones is because we still have Buddy. And, he is loving all the extra attention too! ❤
Oh dear, Lynda! As you said, Tucker’s demise was expected; but to lose your lovely Claus as well is just too sad! Many hugs for you and Bob.
❤ Thank you, Deb. ❤
Oh no – poor you – it is always so hard. Though I would rather it this way rather than the other way round – what would they do if WE died first.. I am so glad they both had such a lovely life with you two and that you were able to celebrate their lives this way.. Take good care Lynda.. c
Thank you, Celi.
You know in California I had enough friends to have that scenario covered. Here? Not so much. Well, with the possible exception of my geese that is. I might have someone who would take them in! 🙂
Awww Lynda, this makes me so sad. I feel as if I lost a couple of nephews. My little furkid wondered why I hugged him so long today.
Anita, thank you. I’m glad to know that their stories shared here were so special for you. AND, I am glad to know that your little furkid is so loved.
❤ 🙂 ❤
My KitKat died last month. And I guess I had been protecting my heart from him for the last 10 years, because when I let him go I was just destroyed as if a part of my heart had died. The vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong, I spent over 1200.00 trying to find out… they called me to come get him because they thought they had it under control but by the time I got there he was dying and the vet was in tears.
I let him go. I held him and he purred hello. Then I let him go. And I’m still destroyed.
I have all old dogs now. Old spaniel. 2 old retired Pyrenees. And an old blind hound dog. I just dread this……but love on them even harder. It is so difficult to lose these friends. My heart goes out to you.
Thank you, Connie. Destroyed is exactly how it feels. Being with Tucker when he passed was so very difficult. I could only hope that someone would be with me, and hold me, when it is my time. Yet, somehow, bad as it was for us with Tucker, it was definite. No unknowns. In a different way, Claus is somehow harder for me because I will never know. I just hope it was quick and that he didn’t suffer.
Connie, I am very sorry for your loss of KitKat. It is, as you said, difficult. ❤
Oh, dear. Two gone in one month. I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine. It sounds like a truism, of course, and perhaps even a little trite, but it’s a fact that you gave them good lives, and lots of love. It doesn’t make losing them any easier, but the grief’s only a sign of the bond you had.
Your “they left a mark on our hearts” photo is exactly right. It’s (dare I say it?) the purr-fect touch. 🙂
Thank you, Linda. I don’t find it trite at all. Except for Tucker all our pets have been rescued animals. We were happy to spoil them and know that we gave them all the best.
Aw, how sad 😦 Those Tucker Pucker ears just used to crack me up. They still do, in fact…
I never could climb trees either.
Tucker Pucker? Simone, how did you know!?! That’s what we called him almost from day one. 😀 And, yes, it was the ears that had me from first sight!
I climbed trees all the time, but now I am doing good to climb the steps some days. Claus and I were both slowing down because of our knees.
(I think my last tree climbed was in my 50s in the rain forest of Costa Rica. It was a strangler fig and I have a picture of me peeking out of the top… sort of a “Where’s Waldo moment.”)
LOL, I’m trying to picture that 🙂
If I find it I will post it! It was such a blast!!!
So sorry to hear the news. I think the author Heather Lende said it well in her most recent book that as women, we need to nurture and our husband’s are pretty self-sufficient. A pet fills that need for us. The fur kids are well loved and much missed.
Nancy
They are, Nancy. The weird thing about Tucker is this:
I got him to be my dog because Bob was a died in the wool cat person. However, over the years he and Tucker became inseparable when Bob was home. I was second string during the day, but Bob was the one he waited watched for by the window each and every day. And, being the circus dog he was, he was jumping and skirting his ankles when he walked through the door too (that kinda smarted)! At the end of the day, this loss was harder on him than it was on me, and it was especially hard on me to watch Bob’s grieving.
Peace to you Lynda.
Thank you, Aria!
Hard enough to grieve for one but two is just too much. We lost a cat, we think to foxes, it’s awful not knowing or trying to imagine. Hugs.
Tucker was hard, but his death was for sure and for certain. We took him to the Mountain Farmlet and planted him under a Dogwood tree near the orchard. (Funny, I just caught the significance of that Dogwood tree. 🙂 ) But Claus, well, he just hurts my brain think about. I’m sorry for your loss too, Annie. ❤
Hugs and sympathies to you both.
Since we were married, we have always had 2 dogs, 2 cats, and no children. We lost our Lester (dog) in 2012, and Sophie (dog) and Dave (cat) last year. It doesn’t even matter if call them your furkids, I think even if you had children you would feel the same loss. It is never easy, but knowing you gave them the best life possible somehow makes it feel better. And you will know when the time is right to get another. I truly believe that they find you more than the other way around. They can never replace the pets lost, but they can certainly distract you from your grief. We are now blessed with Woody and Cyrus (dogs) and Will and MonkeyCat. Wackadoodles one and all!
Thank you, Katy!
I do remember Lester and Sophie, they were such lovely friends to you both. Yes, the loss hurts like heck, but you are right. Except for Tucker, all our furkids past and present were rescue animals. We know we gave them if not a long life, then a very good one, and that helps bunches when their day is done. I had thought about going out and looking for a new pup to fill that hole in our heart, but you are correct. They do find us in the end.
PS: I did get your first post. I just needed time to compose myself and to reply everyone. (Also, I monitor all comments to my blog and that is why you didn’t see your comment until today. ❤ )
Oh Lynda, I am so very sorry! I wish I had words to comfort … know that my thoughts are with you.
Thank you, Laurie. We are starting to adjust to life without the little dog and Claus the lover, but we still have moments… 🙂
❤ Sending sympathy, from me and Tim. He loved those two fur-kids, too!
Thank you, Pam and Tim. It is often that we bloggers write about our little furry friends, but not so often that our readers actually knew and loved them. Tucker and Claus put their mark on more than just our hearts, didn’t they?
I am sorry, Lynda. I know all of this has been difficult for you and Bob. I am glad I got to meet both Tucker and Claus… and yes, I bet Buddy is loving the extra attention.
Thank you, Lori.
There was a bit of irony in reading your post about that fox this morning. Not that I like the idea of the fox’s demise, but, that in a way, it leveled the balance in nature a bit. Poor Claus; poor old fox…
Buddy is over the top at being number one. We bought him a new bed to ease his aging bones, and I am afraid that after two years of Tucker being the center of everything because he was so sick, well, I am glad we are snapping out of it and letting Buddy shine! He has also been grieving the loss of his little playmate. I will share about that too.
I wish their lives were longer! My husband and I were talking about this the other day. 9 1/2 years ago, we got 2 little kitten babies only a few months old. One died at only 5 1/2 years of age of heart trouble, and it was definitely heart breaking for us. Now the other one, as cat’s age much faster than we do, has grown older than we are and he is starting to suffer from arthritis. Hoping that he does not have to leave us too soon…….
We have often uttered that very same thing, Mary. I am sorry to hear about your cats. We just seem to grow so attached to them and quickly too. ❤
I’m sorry for your losses, Lynda. I remember Steve Gingold’s similar post in June:
https://sggphoto.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/06-06-2015-the-post-i-did-not-want-to-make/
Thank you, Steve. Pet ownership isn’t just a responsibility, it is opening your heart to love and the devotion of a friend. They become a part of the family before you know it, and then seemingly, suddenly they are gone and have left a hole that only they could fill.
We have discussed getting another friend, but realize that the little guys were one in a million and their replacements will not be the same. They will come equipped with their own personalities and quirks, and of course we will love them… But we are not ready yet.
Break one’s heart, indeed! So sorry to hear you’ve lost TWO of your buddies this summer.
It’s been a rough summer on almost all fronts, Patti, but we are starting to feel relief with the fall coming on. We are even talking about looking for a new little friend, though we don’t want to just jump into it.
Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
omgosh, I’m so sorry to hear this. That’s the worst, to not have a kitty come home when they usually do. You never really get over it. I know this. Every pet we ever have is a gift. It sounds like you have so much love to give, when the time is right.
Boomdee, thank you. It was hard to loose two pets in the space of only 7 days. Tucker was hard but we saw it coming. You are correct in that not knowing what happened is far more difficult. I watched that front window for several weeks hoping to see his little kitty face there. But no, he is really gone.