Farewell Chip

This past Friday we made the difficult decision and had Chip put to sleep. He was a brave fighter, never once telling us how much in pain he was. He lived with us for all his 14 years and we always looked forward to coming home and him greeting us at the door. So many nuances he had - full of fun, very dedicated to us, never once waivering in his affection. He knew all our faults and secrets, never once telling anyone what fools we were sometimes. Unfortunately, Dave was not home for a good part of Friday and I stayed home helping Chip through his last day. I had contacted Dave to tell him that Chip's time had come and that when he got home, he had time to spend with Chip, holding him, petting, talking to him, loving him, until we had to make the drive to Tucson to the vet. Needless to say, these pictures cannot express our sadness and pain as we said good bye to the most intelligent, loving, kind animal Dave and I have had the pleasure of living with. And to make it more painful, Chip was Dave's first pet - Chip picked out Dave and when the two made eye contact, I immediately told Dave that he was the one. Chip came to us from the Cleveland Animal Protective Shelter, having made the decision to get another black and white (tuxedo) cat a few days after we had put Carl to sleep. I wasn't ready but Dave insisted - and I am so lucky he did insist. What a wonderful cat - partner, friend, playmate, troublemaker, he was. Chip helped me with my sewing, made sure Grace stayed out of trouble, was our guard dog - hissed at people who should not come in, helped me with cooking. Just a wonderful cat. Didn't like riding in the truck, but once we got to a campground and settled in, he was fine. Often sat in the back and watched the world go by. And of course - finding the best spot to get the most of the sunshine, getting the spot before Grace found it. He loved his hammock - spending all kinds of hours sleeping or watching the birds out the window, or just hanging there. Thank you Dennis for getting Chip the hammock. And Chip was a man's man - if Dave was doing something around the house and had his tools out, Chip was right there helping him. Never waivered from giving Dave his two sense - use that tool, or can I try that? Let me see, let me help. What a guy, as Dave always said. Sometimes we couldn't find Chip - he had managed to get inside whatever space or nook or cabinet that Dave had been working on - just checking it out. And Chip's favorite place to lay - on Dave's slippers. Something about the leather, or the smell, or something - always on Dave's slippers.

He had a rough beginning, we didn't know that at 4 weeks old (yes! he was that young!) he had been neutered two days before we brought him home. He crashed within 3 days, I took off the next couple of days from work, taking Chip into the vet for interveneous feedings and antibiotics, and by 4 days of this regiment, he was coming around. Tough little kid. Obviously with him and his medical issues so young - he hated any and all vets. Growled when we took him in for shots. For the last couple of years we had been dealing with his decline, and Chip was a trouper. I looked back on the blog and noted that April 2010 while we were at Sapelo Island camping in Georgia, Chip had gotten sick and the managers of the campground found us a vet. That diagnosis was stress but now we know that wasn't it - he had a tumor and it was beginning to cause him problems. As we look back now - he had this growth for some time - Chip constantly was licking his stomach. But today - both Dave and I say - we were blessed to have two more years of Chip in our life, we were so lucky. Since this past Tuesday we knew his days were short, and my sister put it correctly - we were in hospice care for Chip. Rest in peace, Chip, we are so happy you aren't in pain anymore. We will meet up someday. We will always love you. Have fun and give 'em hell in your next life!