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Saying Goodbye to Sammy Boy
When a cat has a ton of nicknames, you know he’s a cool cat. Not only did Sammy have a bunch of nicknames (Sammy boy, Boogers, Sams, Sammy Sweet Heart etc…) his official last name also happened to be Cool. Icing on the cake, no?
Sammy’s story is unfortunate, but far from sad. As a stray, Sammy chased down Diane Cool’s car three years ago every day as she would arrive from work. There was no escaping this friendly bow-legged black cat. Not only would he know exactly which car was hers, he would actually jump into the car as soon as she would open it, sit in the back seat, and demand attention. At the time, Diane just so happened to be a volunteer for PetitsPawz. Did he know that? I like to think so.
As a black adult cat, Sammy’s chances of being adopted were unfortunately quite slim. In the meantime, some very special and dedicated volunteers cared for him daily, including Susan, Diane, Patricia, Bev, Amy and many more. They all fell in love with the slightly chubby Sammy who would always greet them at the door of the shelter that he shared with a few other foster cats. He loved to play, and was very happy at the shelter.
I didn’t really get to know this Sammy. When I first began fostering him, he had already started slowing down a bit. After two months of being in our care, he was diagnosed with kidney disease, and from then on I came to know a different Sammy. My mission changed from finding him a home, to providing him with a home for what would turn out to be the last five months of his life.
To me he was the sweetest little boy. While slightly low on energy, he still enjoyed playing up until a week before the end. He loved treat time, and would always steal all the other cats’ treats. A part of me thinks they liked him so much that they just let him. He was sweet and accepting of any new foster cat that would arrive, and his head boops were so intense that they could make you cry. He was special, plain and simple. Whenever I think of him now, these are the things that come to mind.
In the end, he was with the people that he loved the most and had finally experienced what it was like to have a forever home. Throughout his illness many people followed his story and donated towards his care. The bowlers at PetitsPawz’ bowl-a-thon raised much-needed funds that were put towards his care. Sammy had an army behind him.
Two weeks before he passed away, Sammy had a visit with his old friend Diane Cool, and was able to see his best feline friend Harry leave for his forever home. He was also reunited with Susan, who cared from him for over two years and made sure to be there during his final few moments. While these past five months were difficult for him, he did not suffer very much. He was strong, he was happy, and most importantly he was loved dearly. As soon as we saw that he no longer had the strength to fight, we gave him the most peaceful ending an animal could ask for. So many abandoned animals don’t get to have this. This is why his story is unfortunate, yet it is far from being sad.
Sammy left us on Monday May 13th just after 12:15 pm.
Written by Laura Dextrase, Sammy’s ‘forever’ foster mom
