In Memory of Our Dear Friends

My heart is heavy as I write this, but I would be remiss if I did not post a memorial to a dear family friend, Pepper, who passed away Monday, February 4, 2008. We adopted her in July of 1999 from the Sterling Petsmart. We had found another cat that was fluffy and friendly, and we were coming back to buy that cat but she was gone. I saw this little tabby cowering in the back of a cage and both I and my wife decided to get her. We excitedly packed her up and drove her home. She was our first child. We turned her loose in our apartment in Leesburg and we didn't see her the first night! She hid somewhere.

Over the next few months, she slowly inched her way towards us. One night, my wife said 'look who is at the foot of the bed!' Eventually she was glued to either our lap or our side. We fed her like a queen. We learned that she loved to play with bubbles (that you blow), and that she loved above anything, strawberry cream cheese.

She accompanied us throughout our life the past 8 years through many moves across two states. She celebrated with us when things were great and consoled us when times were tough.

We took her to the vet before Thanksgiving to get her eye looked at. It was draining. The vet prescribed an antibiotic and eye drop and we thought it would go away. It did not. Our vet observed that she was missing a tooth the next visit, and during the surgery to fix it, found a mass in the roof of her mouth, under her right eye. A tissue sample was taken and she had cancer.

Over the past couple of months, I walked the darkest journey I have ever walked, caring for and loving her. Cleaning up blood, finding different foods for her to eat as her mouth began to hurt worse and worse, right up until the last couple days when she couldn't even eat coolwhip.

The day we put her to sleep, my wife called me at work and said she had blood dripping from her mouth, and we knew it was the day. I went home and sat on the couch with her. Even though she was weak, she lay on my lap, curled up around my hand, purring, while I wept. She died in my wife's arms as I scratched her behind her left ear, her favorite way to be loved. The last noise I heard her make was purring as she slowly passed away.

I would sincerely like to thank HART for giving us the opportunity to be blessed by such a wonderful being. We truly love and miss Pepper and she will never be forgotten.

Mary and Joe Young

Contact Information