Sophie our 16 yr old Persian Crossed the Rainbow Bridge Yesterday

Many of you have followed Sophies oddysey of going Blind and Deaf on December 9th! I'm sorry to have to report that she unexpectedly "Crossed the Rainbow Bridge" between 5:00 and 5:30 on February 21 while in the animal hospital undergoing testing! Sophie was a wonderful little 16 year old black and white Persian that we rescued from the Edison, NJ animal shelter almost three years ago. She was badly neglected and matted and the folks at the shelter were really pleased that we adopted her, as I believe she would soon be euthanized! Soon after we adopted her I had to undergo unexpected open heart surgery and that night she jumped up on the bed to keep Diane company through the night as though she knew something was not quite right! Throughout my recovery she would spend time with me but I was "not the Momma" and she soon became Diane's little girl although she allowed me to give her her meds three times or more a day and she would patiently sit at the door to her "Kitty" room to let me know she was hungary, or her food bowl was empty, or she didn't like that particular flavor of food! Yes, she was spoiled rotten but she gave so much love and affection in return! We will forever miss Sophie, on our bed, in her bed at the foot of our bed and we will never forget her!

Thank you for the kind words and prayers for Sophie and Diane and Me! What we are really struggling with is that when we took her to the animal hospital we hated to even leave her overnight, but we never thought it would be the last time that we would see her! We didn't really get to say a proper good bye!

Robin!
Thank you for your kind words! They came at just the right time as we struggle with the change in our household! You don't realize all the little things that our "furry little children do" on a daily basis to make us smile, until they are gone! We have adopted 9 kitties since 1976 and at one time had five little guys around at one time! Though we only had Sophie just under three years she was really special! We'll bring her remains home this week and when one of us passes she'll lay beside us forever!
We will look to adopt another shelter kitty in early spring. Between now and then we have to visit an old friend who lives in Georgia (97 yrs.old) and visit our children and grandchildren up north! Sophie will always be in our hearts, and she is the wallpaper photo on my cell phone!
Thanks for following our journey and for caring!
Fred & Diane

Sophie's been gone for one week and a day! Today we brought her ashes home along with a clay impression of her front paws! It was emotional to say the least, but we keep reflecting on the many special things she did to bring joy and smiles to our lives! On her last day at home she had vision and looked out the sliding doors looking for her "little lizard" friends! She stayed there for a while before we took her to the animal hospital, so I believe she probably saw one of her little friends! It's hard to believe how quiet it is at home now! Not that she was loud, it's just that we now realize how much time we had spent talking to her and watching her cute little ways! Sweet dreams Sophie. no more episodes of lost vision and wndering what's happening! Love you always! Mommy & Daddy

It has been so quiet and sad since Sophie left us two weeks ago! We started looking on Petfinder to see if we could find another Persian who needed us and vice versa! We found one in a shelter and another in a foster home! When we called we found that one had just been adopted and the other was two hours away in a shelter. We planned to visit and adopt the one in the shelter on Friday. It was a 5 yr old Persian who had been in the shelter about 3 weeks! My wife had a Dr.'s appointment that morning and while we were getting ready we received a phone call from a vet about three hrs away who had a 14 mo. old Persian rescued from a Cattery who had just been spayed. We decided to go see both and possibly adopt both! As luck would have it my wife needed some additional testing so we had to delay our trip until Saturday! Well we went to see the 14 mo. old little girl! She warmed up to us immediately but it wa clear to see she hadn't really socialized much and would also hide whenever possible. (in the vet's office) We decided to adopt her on the spot. She traveled the three hours back quite well! When we arrived home she immediately hid under the bed for about an hour and the jumped up to visit us on the bed and shower us with love! Kisses and licks! She is the first young cat we've had since 1976! She will need time to adjust from being a "Cattery cat" to a member of the family, but she's off to a great start! As 'm writing this she began meowing for attention and jumped up into my lap! I've never had one of our 9 previous cats do that! She's already adopted some of Sophie's habits and we are off to a great start after just three and a half days! It's almost as though Sophie is telling "Sunny" what she needs to do as she watches from the"Rainbow Bridge"!

Thanks so much! In four days Sunny is beginning to do so many little things, just like Sophie, it's almost as though Sophies spirit is in her!

Hopefully below will be a photo of "Sunshine" our new little 14 month old little girl. She has been in a cattery all that time and in foster care in a crate! She is just learning to socialize with adult humans! She showers us with love but is very nervous and hyperactive! In the 5 days she's been with us she is calming down, still bites a bit and is always checking to see if someone is going to get her food! Sophie seems to be helping her adjust to her new life with us inn her "forever" home!

Thanks LDG! The last two weeks and the past 5 days have been the sadest and happiest! I agree that Sophie had a paw in how Sunny was brought to our attention for adoption! The love that Sunny is showering on us is amazing and we are certainly responding in kind! Sophie is the wallpaper photo on our cell phones and she will never be forgotten! It's amazing how Sunny is responding to our hand gestures and vocalizations, just like Sophie!
As always thanks for yourkind words! they've really helped us through this!
Fred & Diane

Well Sophie continues to live in spirit with "Sunshine"! Sunshine now sits and patiently looks toward her food bowl just like Sophie did! None of the other eight cats we've had have ever done that! Just Sophie and now Sunshine! We continue to call Sunshine "Sophie" about 50% of the time! That's OK! I'll look for the Fur Pics forum ad post some photos of Sophie and Sunshine! By the way we've only had about 10 days and she is beginning to really socialize! Spending the night with both ofm us and sharing her affection with both of us! I think because she is younger than any of our adoptions since the 80's she is bonding quickly and is appreciative to be with humans!

Below is a photo of "Sunshine"! I'm not sure where to find "Fur Pics" to post photos! I'm probably not looking in the correct place!