November 1st, 2009

At approximately 3:40am yesterday morning, we lost a beloved family member. He died in Jeanette's arms in the emergency room. Chessie was a wonderful and special little feline. He was the ripe old age of 17 1/2 when he passed away.



Chessie was orginally our family cat, Allen, Jordan and myself. However, at one time, Smidgen was so out of control and so determined to attack Chessie that we let Jeanette take him to live w/her. [I have had an immense amount of guilt about that over the years.] But it was a godsend for all involved. Chessie had an indoor home where he was spoiled rotten over the years. We didn't have to worry about him being outside [where he'd been resigned to due to Smidgen's issues] and Jeanette had a precious loving companion.



Over the years, we've enjoyed Chessie's company, always making certain he had Christmas presents... he was tough to buy for since he wasn't too fond of toys. Chessie was not much on catnip or other vices, but he did believe in being fed well [and often, lol]



A running story line in our family was that Chessie was the old general store owner.. [because he was the family feline patriarch] and that Smidgen worked for him... though Smidgen is aging quickly as well. Smidgen himself is now 16 1/2 years old. But as the story grew, Mickey [our youngest] would run through Chessie's General Store and knock things down w/his little backpack. It was a long running and entertaining yarn strewn throughout the years.... but at 3:40 am yesterday the lights went dark in the general store for the final time.



Jeanette called at 2am, hysterical [though we knew it was possibly emminent] saying Chessie was dying. I could hear him in the background and recognized the sound from Elijah's final moments. I quickly dressed and Jordan drove us to Jeanette's to be w/him. One look told me that his passing was at hand. It broke my heart to see him so helpless and to know I couldn't really do anything to help him. I told Jeanette to get dressed and we would take him to the emergency room where they could euthanize him and alleviate his suffering in the last moments. [we have an animal emergency room in our community... a wonderful facility, pricey, but most definitely a godsend in the afterhours]. When we arrived, I thought for a moment he'd already passed away enroute. But he took another ragged breath shortly after. They attempted to get an IV started for what seemed like forever, but they were unsuccessful, his little veins were collapsed and his blood pressure was very low. Finally they brought him back into the room w/us and we just held him, telling him how special he was, how much he'd be missed but that we knew he was tired.... in a matter of minutes, he was gone.



Life will be different w/out Chessie, especially for Jeanette who spent every day in his company. Jordan, my son, was particularly fond of Chessie. They were always very close. It broke my heart for him as well. At 24, the only time I could really recall ever seeing him cry was when my daddy passed away in 1993. He was heartbroken in the emergency room when we all said our g'byes. That brought even more tears to my eyes, seeing my sweet son's heart in pain and knowing I couldn't help him, I couldn't make the situation better for him. I held him close and we cried together for a while, but in the end, we each must grieve in our own way, on our own time.



Funeral services for Chessie will be held on Tuesday. I know it will again be a time of heartache. A yank at the bandaid currently covering the wound. But it will give us a chance to lay Chessie to rest and say our final g'byes.



Not only will Chessie's passing leave a large gap in our world and in our hearts.. but he has pointed out the mortality of the remaining seven feline furbabies in our home. So we mourn what we've lost and worry for the future. We pray that time will ease the pain of losing Chessie and that such a lost will not overshadow our hearts again for a long time to come.



Chessie was a sweet, gentle little soul. Solid black, we found it ironic that our little halloween cat would have that holiday as the day of his passing. I hope that as he waits to meets us on the next plane that he is once again healthy, happy and enjoying life.



We love you Chessie.... you will be sadly missed by many for years to come. Rest well my sweet little furbaby.