R.I.P. BELOVED GIGI

Saturday at noon, Linda had the sad duty of euthanizing her beloved little female cat, Gigi. Gigi had a rich and interesting nearly 18 years on this planet and the beginning of the end was sudden and swift.

Gigi was originally the pampered little princess of Linda's mother. When Rita entered into her final illness, Gigi came to live with Linda and her then-fiance in Huntington Beach, California. Already resident in the household were two of the most wonderful Golden Retrievers anyone would ever want to meet, Amber and Cassis.

Now you have to understand, Gigi was an only child until that point and a totally inside cat. She didn't know what to make of these two enormous doggies, but rather quickly decided that she too was a Golden, to the point of sleeping with them in their doghouse! When I moved out to California for about 6 months and stayed with Linda and Doofus, Gigi was quite seriously annoyed that I brought my two boys, BooBoo and Rocky. She wanted nothing whatsoever to do with either of them and her attitude never changed. After all, SHE was a Golden Retriever!

When Linda moved cross country to Virginia, Gigi accompanied her in the moving truck, leading to one memorable episode during the trip when Gigi went into convulsions due to an excess of insulin in her little system. But all survived and for the past 8 years or so, Gigi has been a lady of Virginia, and she still had a dog - her beloved pit bull mix, Zeus, who loved her right back.

When I moved here, my two cats didn't know what to make of Gigi, who by this time was quite elderly, but still very much her own person. Sam was actively hostile (well - he's pretty much hostile to everyone but me at this juncture) and Timmy, ever the affable sweetheart, wanted to play with her. She wanted nothing whatsoever to do with THEM, but my lap was an instant destination and a frequent one.

The rapid onset of her illness left her, by late last week, completely blind and deaf as a yard of grass. I accompanied Linda to the vet on Saturday and Gigi has left to join her original family: Rita, Amber and Cassis. Our roommate swears he has heard her meow in the middle of the night, even though he knows she's no longer with us.

She was much loved, quite a personality, and a beautiful and loving (to people and dogs) companion. Linda is bereft, as am I, but with this post, I am celebrating the life of a wonderful companion and a very cool lady!

Rest in peace, sweetheart. Be seeing you.