In Loving Memory

Doodles entered this world with a club foot, bent tip of the tail, bent ear, and no meow and we instantly fell in love with him. Add his masked-look face to the adorability factor and you have one very special cat. His hind feet were the size of rabbit feet which made him clumsy at first though he grew into those quickly. He was always the "protector" from the time he opened his eyes and we could all sense that he had an old soul. Doodles had three brothers and two sisters - Halsten, Kibbles, Minky, Cali, and Minnie. Here they are with their Mother, Cerra - you'll find Doodles in the middle of the pack.

From left to right: Minnie, Minky, Doodles, Halsten, Kibbles, and Cami

That was all of 17 years ago. How time flies. Over the years, Doodles was loved by all who came in contact with him. He was just that kind of cat. We were so blessed to have him in our life - a part of our family.

There was a time several years ago where we thought we had lost him forever. He rarely stayed out all night so when he didn't show up for a few nights, we started to assume the worst. Ten days later, I received a call from my neighbor who wanted to know if we were missing a cat. When I replied "YES!" she informed me that she thought she knew where he was. Apparently, on one of his neighborly visits, he decided to enter their trailer. The neighbors had no idea he was in their trailer when they shut the door, moved it to the race track camping area, and left. Little to say, after 10 days with little water and food, he was very happy to be rescued and he never strolled into their trailer again.
You know, they say a cat has nine lives. I wonder... if they don't use up nine lives in their current life... do they get to come back and have extra do-overs.? If they get to come back, I sure hope he finds his way back to us. We would cherish another 17 years with him!

Sigh... a person can dream!

On August 4th, Doodles was laid to rest at 3:45PM. He will be missed by all ... Especially missed by us.