From Sarah

Who would have known that on May 3, 2001 a black furball of a kitten would
come into this world and then two days later steal my heart. Sheila, a lady
I worked with in NC, came in a said a momma cat had adpoted her family and
had kittens. I couldn't wait to see them, there was one black one and two
tiger striped. At some point in going over to see the kittens day after
day, I was holidng the black one and he fell asleep. I made the comment
that he was "tuckered out". Thus the name Tucker came into being for this
blue eyed black fuzzy furball. I was adamant that I would have him, so I
wrote a letter to my land-lady asking if I could have this kitten. She
didn't want pets in the house I was renting, but I told her that I would be
sure to have the carpets cleaned and everything when I left. She said YES!

So, after 6 or 8 weeks, Tucker came to live with me. Not too long after, I
moved back to FL (Sept 2001). So we took our first road trip together...
and like me... he doesn't fare well in moving vehicles when he is a
passenger. Go figure! He got to be cooped up in my room at my mom's house
for what seemed like forever to him I'm sure... except for the few times he
got out only to go torment Color. She was not very pleased to have this
youngster in her house. Thankfully, we didn't stay too long and moved into
the house I am in now.

He has enjoyed the windows, the doors being open, listening to the birds and
watching the lizards. We've had our good times and our bad times. The bad
times being losing my dad and then earlier this year the discovery of a mass
on Tucker's side and finding out it was cancer. In May we had it removed,
only for it to return at the beginning of August and grow ferociously since
then. The surgeon would not remove the tumor again and
chemotherapy/radiation would not have helped at all. We tried a holistic
vet and she recommended some herbs that might help slow the growth of the
tumor. We tried the herbs but then Tucker got tired of my making his wet
food taste gross so we stopped using them.

This Thanksgiving weekend, I noticed he was not eating very much, if at all,
and he was sleeping ALOT. The tumor is finally taking all his energy. He
hesitates to jump up on things because this mass is so big it gets in the
way and hurts him. I realized in all of this, it is coming time to say good
bye to my baby, my Tucker. He has been my best friend and constant
companion for 6 1/2 years. I would do anything for this boy, I love him so
much. Some people say, "he is just a cat". Oh they are sorely mistaken. He
is my family. We know each other better than we know ourselves. I will
miss him sitting here on the computer desk, or climbing up on me to take a
nap in my lap or on my chest... messing with the blinds because he wants to
look outside... and getting that look in his eye when I would say the word
"treat"... the other T word he knows besides his name.

So, I said good bye to my baby today, November 27th.... He will be with my
dad and be able to run around after mice and lizards and watch the birds in
that special place in heaven I believe God has for our beloved pets.

With sadness,
Sarah