Tribute

To my cat. Dennis. He has been a part of my life for over 14 years. Dennis died yesterday.

Dennis was born under a shed in our backyard in Salem, Utah. How did he get the name of Dennis you ask? I'll tell you! When I was a kid, there was a neighbor two doors down about 5 years older than me. Whenever I went over their house to visit his younger sister or to find my mother, he would answer the door with a smile and a friendly welcoming. The neighbor, Dennis Peterson, is a redhead. My cat has similar fur color and the same loving, friendly demeanor. Therefore, he had to be named Dennis! (BTW, Dennis Peterson is still one of our very, good friends).

He was a very loving kitty from the very beginning. He would come out from wherever he was while I was working in the yard and stay by my side until I went in. We had many cats but none of them were allowed in the house. But he was special so we made exceptions from time to time. When I would be typing late at night, he would walk across the desk, right in front of my monitor and plop himself down - or try to sit in my lap.

One day, when it was quite windy, I noticed that the door from the breezeway to the garage got blown shut. I saw Dennis just barely slip past. He must have come out the front of the garage. We left the next day to go to Lake Powell and when we came back we couldn't find Dennis, but we noticed droplets of blood by the garage door. Several days later, we found him in a hole dug into the side of the hill. Half of his tail was missing! I took him to the vet, got it cleaned up and a couple of staples put in to help it heal. He has always looked a little funny with just half a tail!

Then it came time for us to move to Oregon. We had about 7 cats. We could only take one cat with us since we were going to be moving into a rental home. It was hard to leave all of the others behind, but Dennis was the clear choice. He had remained very loving and easy to care for.

After a year in Oregon, we bought a house and Dennis the cat was the Defender of the Universe! Or so he thought! He never let other cats even think about crossing the property line and even tried to scare off the deer! He was one very tough guy. When he was off scouring the neighborhood for spare kitty food, the deer would visit in the front yard and would leave behind their little "deposits". When Dennis came back after enjoying his spoils, he would roll in their "deposits" and somehow reclaim his territory and leave his own scent as a warning of sorts (I guess). Needless to say, he was a dirty, dirty cat.

Dennis was not exactly what you would describe as lean or trim. Besides all of his long hair, his girth added to his omnipotent appearance. Dennis would beg for his breakfast at home, then dissatisfied with the diet food which was served in rations, go to the neighbor's houses and bully the other cats into giving up THEIR food! We would see him trot across the street back home with the most satisfied look on his face.

Whenever the pull-down ladder to the attic is down, he seemed to be able to sneak past us and scamper up. He would later be heard crying to be let out after the ladder had been replaced up into the hole. At first, we heard him crying and couldn't figure out where it was coming from!

In later days, his favorite napping spots were just under a bush in the front yard. He didn't seem to care that he was now considered an "outside" cat (remember folks, he loves to roll in that deer poop).

In the last few years, we believe that Dennis just lost his instinct for grooming as his fur was perpetually matted. I would try to comb him out, but he was NOT going to put up that sissy stuff. A groomer wouldn't touch him, so I took him to the vet. They actually had to give him a general anesthetic to be able to comb him out. Then, it just became tangled and matted again a few months later. Next time, we put him under and just had to shave him - all except his legs and around his face. What a crazy look THAT was! But yet again, he seemed insistent on the one big dread across the top of his back!

Dennis still continued to be very loving and always was beside you when you were outside. Every day when I brought Jenna home from seminary or school, he was always there, running up along side the Suburban to greet us - or maybe to just beg for more food! Although in the last month or so, he has slowed down a lot. He even looks and feels like he has lost a lot of weight.

We are having some major renovations done to our property so there has been a lot of heavy machinery the last week or so. We couldn't find Dennis in his regular napping spaces and he wasn't coming out to greet us when we drove up. We tore out all of the foliage in the front yard and that left nowhere for Dennis to call home. When we went looking for him, he was barely moving and couldn't walk without swaying from side to side. He barely opened his eyes and tried to meow. He wouldn't eat or drink anything.

I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with liver failure. Dennis had half a tail, almost no teeth and had lost 2/3 of his weight. Still, he braved out the last days of his life.

It seems like it would be a hard decision to make, but it wasn't.

This loving and loyal kitty had lived a full life and brought much joy to me and my family. We got a lot of good laughs out of his cute and quirky personality and habits.

It was hard to say good-bye though. I love you, Dennis!

We made this little rock garden for him. These are river rock that I brought back from Idaho that Denise Johnson gave me from where they built their house in Rigby - so they are sentimental in many ways. (Denise passed away 9 years ago).