Rocky came into my life when I was 21, brought into our home in Torrington by my sister Sharon....he was a wee wee little ball of white and golden fur.....from the start he followed me around like a puppy....cuddling in my lap and purring so loud you could hardly imagine something SO small making such a racket!
As I grew in my life my little "Smudgeo" grew with me......He was a constant in my life, and from the first day I met him a very very special kitty. He loved to dangle around my neck, like a purring warm scarf, happiest when he could be close to me. He saw dogs and cats come and go in our lives, he saw major changes, he moved with me and became the World's Most Well Traveled Cat...! Whenever Rocky saw a cardboard box come out I would get the "evil eye" , he well knew what packing meant!
Throughout his life he had his challenges......a broken leg from too hard playing with another cat in the household....allergies to food and medicine and dental issues....through it all he was paitent, kind and never had a cross moment for anyone....until this past year. Up until this last year or so my Rocky was fat, sassy and full of sparkle. He caught your eye from the moment you saw him and he would NOT let you pay attention to another cat.....He raised his share of kittens and puppies and he was the only cat in the house his young sister Biscuit would NOT pounce on. She never has...she's always been extremely loving with him, much to his chagrin...
I remember when it was just me and him, in a small motel room in Vermont.....he my company and companion, keeping the gloom away from the door. He was my clown, my charmer, my positive sunshine in a new and uncertain existence. And what a kisser!! Rocky loved to give kisses.....licking anyone who would let him, right smack on the nose, purring the entire time. All of his doctors were always amused with him, as he would purr as loud as he could and give his "love eyes" during any part of any veterinary exam he ever had....
That's why this year it became apparent there was something very very wrong with Rocky. He stopped eating as strongly as he once had, and underwent several procedures to help him rally. Until the day that he was diagnosed with a terminal disease.....it went from bad to worse......After a hospital stay to regenerate his appetite Rocky rallied......but the postive was short lived. Yesterday after I fed him chicken baby food Rocky told me, with his eyes, that in his heart he was done. Done fighting, and exhausted. I could see it in the lackluster look, the lack of sparkle.....still he purred though...and my last photo of me and him is of him doing what he always did best, giving his Rocky Kisses....
I will miss him terribly....he was a loving constant in my life for these past 12 years and I and my husband Joe are so thankful of the time we had with him. I am sending this email out because I am not going to be able to talk about this for a while. I know that I will someday see Rocky again, restored to his full health, fat and happy....greeting me as I journey over the rainbow bridge..I know that God has a special place in Heaven for animals as special as Rocky was and always will be remembered as.