Faithful Furry Family Members

Honey Bear, our 8-year-old poochie

For those of us who are animal lovers, our family is incomplete without our fur babies. With their sweet faces, loving behavior, and funny antics, they bring added joy and laughter into our lives. We love them to pieces and they fill a whole within us we never knew even existed until they came into our lives.

I was reminded this past weekend of the connection between animal lovers and their pets. Our beloved bunny, Boo, who we had for 3 years, became ill suddenly, without warning. There wasn’t anything to be done, so Saturday, we had
to say goodbye. My kids and I had a long cry together, and we spent Sunday mourning our lost friend and family member.

Some people might laugh or not understand our tears, for Boo was “only” a rabbit. Yet, to us, he was a part of our family and we loved him dearly. We have many fond memories of watching our bunny hop around with glee or racing around with the cats in their own version of tag. My kids enjoyed making Boo special salads from the yard and picking handfuls of dandelions every day during our walks. Believe me it was hard for us to say goodbye to our sweet bunny, and it still hurts immensely to not have him here with us anymore! 

Tigger, our 7-year-old kitty

During this difficult time, I noticed that our other furry family members sensed our mourning and the loss of Boo. Our little dog, Honey Bear, spent most of the weekend moping and whimpering. Our oldest cat, Tigger, (who was Boo’s best friend) spent a great deal of time during the day sleeping where Boo’s cage used to be. At night, Tigger watched over my kids, taking turns to stand guard over my son, then my daughter . . . back and forth.

Tigger is especially loving and faithful. Every night when I’m tucking in my son and daughter, he comes to tuck them in as well. He has done this since the day my children were born. Whichever child makes it to bed first, that is the one he tucks in first. He kneads their blankets, purrs up a storm, and gives them goodnight kisses. And then it’s on to the other child after they are comfy and relaxed.

If someone is sick in bed, Tigger senses it and stays with them most of the day. He lies on their feet or snuggles up against them. He sleeps whenever they are resting but watches intently when they get restless. Out of our 4 cats, Tigger is the most in tune with us and he continues to surprise me.

Although it’s difficult to lose a pet, I wouldn’t give up the rest of my fur babies for the world. All the wonderful things they bring into our lives are worth a thousand times more than the hurt when losing them. Certainly, with pets, the old adage “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” could never be more accurate!