“My sweet Dagny, If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever. Until we meet again in the Loving Presence of The Lord.”

The depths of my grief can hardly be measured at the loss of my beloved and constant companion after her sudden and unexpected passing at 24 days shy of only her 11 birthday, a fairly short life for an indoor cat, which is a stinging reminder to live every moment, enjoy every interaction, and love without restraint the time you have with your fur baby.

My Dagny came to me after the loss of my previous pet, my cat Tobby who lived for nearly 17.75 years. I suffered many of the feelings people experience when a new pet is inserted into the spot a previously beloved pet once held; Some resentment, guilt, “You’re not Tobby syndrome”, but in time Dagny’s own character and personality came out and now, one day after her passing, I’m already missing those traits.

Dagny, even as a cat, actually exhibited some dog-like behaviors; when I would come home from work, and she heard the garage door going up and down, she would go to the closed laundry room door where I would enter the house and start meowing from the other side, greeting me every time I came home. She would bring me her mousey, a small stuffed mouse, and drop it at my feet and then I would throw it down a hallway and she would fetch it and bring it back to me for another toss. Whenever someone would come to my door to visit or drop off a package she would notice before I would and she would replace a dogs bark with a cats hiss alerting me to a potential intruder, or at least that’s how she interpreted anyone who wasn’t me. When people were allowed in she would stand there and hiss at them. LOL, she never attacked anyone, but she always made it known to strangers that this was her house.

Dagny loved to chew on plastic bags and bubble wrap, she would open kitchen drawers to get to some and always rushed to the scene when I opened my kitchen pantry because she knew there was some bubble wrap in there. I kept all of these chewed up plastic items around, even though they were no longer usable, just because I knew Dagny loved them.

Early on Dagny made it known that she preferred drinking out of a cup instead of her water bowl. I would keep a full cup of water on my bathroom vanity which, after eating from her food bowl in the walk-in closet, she would race to and drink from as I shaved or brushed my teeth. Of course she loved to drink from the faucet too, so she would stand next to the faucet I was at, tap the faucet a couple times with her paw to let me know to turn the water on, and I would oblige her.

Of course we had the usual bedtime and morning walk-up calls as I tried to sleep. Standing next to my head and meowing, ‘Come on Dad, get up and pet me?” Pawing at the covers asking for me to lift them up so she could crawl under them and join me. Last night was my first night without her and I would have traded anything to have her disturb my sleep.

I am a single guy and Dagny, and Tobby before her, were my only pets during their times with me so we had very strong bonds with each other and experiences that only we shared with one another without any other person or pet witnessing or sharing in those moments. Those moments were only ours to share, like an inside joke that no one else understands. I could go on forever about her many funny and unique habits and our daily routines, but I think I’ll keep some to myself, not every inside joke needs to be shared, some need to be held between two friends and companions. My heart breaks for you my Dear Dagny, but I take comfort in knowing that you are with The Lord, maybe you’ve even met Tobby, and you are happy, healthy and full of life, until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge my ‘My Good Girl.’