Sandy was my little baby boy. The day that he passed was the day that I not only lost a pet, but a son, best friend, comforter, comic-relief, muse, and so much more. The house is a lot quieter without him because he was the most interactive of our three cats. Every morning he would get up, yowl and scratch at the water bowl, patrol the yard, then come running back in through the cat door with a, "flap-flap!!" and let out a triumphant yowl before chasing the girl cats around. He would fallow us around the house and cuddle up next to us at night and in the morning while we slept. Truly unique and truly a blessing, he was an answer to a prayer I prayed consistently for two or three years when I was little.

It's weird thinking that only a year ago we were nursing him back to health from him falling off the fence and breaking his foreleg. I remember taking him out for walks in the yard on his harness and taking pictures of his weird sleeping positions. And now, he's gone. The disease that stole Sandy from us was lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes). It probably started at the beginning of the summer when he became a little more sluggish, but it wasn't significant until the first week of October or so. Fluid started to build up in his lungs, causing shallow breathing which only got worse by the cancer causing some lymphs against his diaphragm to swell. Some lymphs near his colon also swelled and prevented him from having bowel movements and eating. Thank God he could still urinate and drink water though. Sandy gradually got weaker and weaker as we tried our best to give him medication and food through a syringe. He eventually got so out of it that it was like he wasn't even here anymore, that's when the first wave of grief hit. He stayed up in my room, hiding beneath my desk, while I was sick for a week. He was so out of energy that we would have to push the water bowl up to his mouth and only then would he start to drink out of it inbetween rasping breaths.

On October 9th at about 10:34pm, Sandy went into respiratory arrest, meaning he could no longer breath properly. It was awful to have to see him suffer so much. I wish so badly that he could have passed peacefully in his sleep. That night the second wave of grief hit, because all hope in him recovering was now gone. I'm so thankful for the time I had with him, and I'm so thankful that I had gotten sick that week so that I could be with him as much as possible, but I still miss him unbearably. He was so precious and dear to me and the rest of my family, even the other two cats have been acting weird since he's been gone; they know something's not right.

Sandy was unique, entertaining, lovable, friendly, charismatic, silly, handsome...I loved him very much. I miss my baby boy and his morning routines, the way he'd always be sitting at the door when we'd come home, how he'd chase the squirrel unsuccessfully, and so many other lovable things. I've put on my page the iconic "Sandy" photo that I took in 2006 under the "webcam" section if you want to see him in his prime.



There are still quite a few more pictures to come from the day trip I took on the 24th, however I've put up a few of them. It was really fun because I got to ride around in the car with my torso sticking out of the sunroof so I could take pictures while we drove and that's how I got pictures of some skiddish ducks flying away. We almost didn't get to see the snow geese, but right when the day was coming to an end we saw A TON of them. I'll post those photos later. At the height of the migration, up to six million snow geese come through. They made the funniest noise! At one point my dad and I walked out near a field where a bunch of them were squawking and scared them all just by standing there. It was really cool to see them all take off, even though what we did was probably illegal and qualified as wildlife disturbance (we were in a wildlife protection area). Oh and I also discovered that I DO NOT LIKE rural towns. Sorry to anyone who lives in one, but the town of Tulelake was SO DULL. I think I saw one person cross the street and that was it. We ate in a diner there and they have two employees as far as I know: The owner and his daughter who is not only the hostess and waitress, but also the cook. Not that the food was bad, but it just wasn't classy. There was no radio playing either so it was really quiet.



I'll eventually make my own journal skin...but I'm too lazy to right now...