Our Journey: May 2011

Marshall would have been 14 yesterday....

Last Friday I had to put my dear little friend to sleep. He sat (purring) in my lap on the way to the vet... just as he always did.... no carrier for him.... and I thought about what a special little blessing he was.

When I brought him home at 8 weeks he looked like this......

I had just moved out on my own and decided I was ready for a pet.

Jeff and I took a little drive to a local pet store (we were still dating back then) and I saw this cute little gray fuzz ball.

The next day I was bringing that little gray fuzz ball home.

He was SOOOO cute and SOOOOO full of energy. He kept me up every night wanting to play. He dumped over my plants... he climbed the couch... he broke a few things.....I thought I was going to take him back he made me so crazy.

But he melted my heart when he purred, when he greeted me at the door, or when he fell asleep in my hand (he was that little).

Shortly after I got him I found out he had a digestive problem and the vet said he would maybe live 6 months. Oh my was that vet ever wrong.....

He kept me company when I lived alone... he became "our" pet when Jeff and I got married.... he moved with us to our first home.... then our second home... he slept with me when I was recovering from surgery or when I wasn't feeling well... he enjoyed Lily's bedroom while we waited for her to come home... he welcomed her home and loved her dearly.... he enjoyed Ty's bedroom while we waited for him to come home... he watched over Lily and I while Jeff was in China... he looked for Jeff while he was gone... he welcomed Ty home and loved him dearly... he moved with us to this house and seemed to like it here the most....he sat under the dinner table so Lily could rub him with her foot while she was eating...he waited outside the bathroom nightly when I gave the kids their baths... he went to each room while I tucked them in...then waited for me to come downstairs for the evening...

he knew our routine sometimes better than we did....

The last few months he started moving slower and in the last few weeks he started to have trouble walking. The vet said he had arthritis and it was pretty bad. They tried some medicine which worked for a few days and then one evening he could barely get down the stairs.

We didn't want to see him hurting and wanted him to go peacefully....

Peacefully he went...

We miss him dearly!

There will be another pet in our future but there was only one Marshall!