Janey Died
On 26 March, easter weekend, one of our cats died, Janey. Losing any of our cats is hard but Janey's been the hardest. Everybody has a once in a lifetime pet and Janey was mine. Here it is over a month later and I'm still crying about her. We were having band practice that weekend so didn't pick up her body until Sunday, then fell apart. Here's what I wrote about her later that week:
We've had Janey longer (9 years, she was probably 11 when she died) than any cat other than the two we had since college and who died before any of you came out here. But more than that, we both came to see Janey as much of a fixture at the Dauphine as, well, the foundation. When we have guests show up who ask to see Janey you can see why we came to see her that way. To y'all, most of the Dauphine cats are ephemeral creatures, a streak here, a glimpse there. Obviously Janey was different as she was on so many levels. We've had 22 cats pass thru our doors in the 9 years we've been here and while all are remarkably different, all are/were also rather ordinary or typical by cat standards. Janey was not. We've never met a more trusting creature, not just to us but to everybody, unflappable, gregarious and *the* most intelligent cat we've ever encountered. And while it's never been easy to lose a cat here at the defacto shelter, because Janey was such a fixture to us, this has shaken us in a way that goes far beyond the usual hurt and sadness of losing a pet.
s&ra and I would like to thank any of you who took even just ten seconds to scritch Janey or sit on the porch and experience the general ambiance of the place, usually with her on your lap or sitting next to you. The Dauphine, and as it turned out Janey, are the reasons s&ra and I are in Missouri: that ability to kick back on the front porch and watch the world go by with a cat in your lap. And I know I can "speak" for Janey in saying how much she thoroughly enjoyed your company, be it brief or long. I hope her ghost or her spirit will remain on the front porch of the Dauphine as she now resides in front of her favorite afternoon spot on the cistern when she'd watch the trains and bubbas go by. So please take some time the next time you're here to sit on the porch, relax and remember how much the official Dauphine Greeting Committee wanted you to be there.
We've had Janey longer (9 years, she was probably 11 when she died) than any cat other than the two we had since college and who died before any of you came out here. But more than that, we both came to see Janey as much of a fixture at the Dauphine as, well, the foundation. When we have guests show up who ask to see Janey you can see why we came to see her that way. To y'all, most of the Dauphine cats are ephemeral creatures, a streak here, a glimpse there. Obviously Janey was different as she was on so many levels. We've had 22 cats pass thru our doors in the 9 years we've been here and while all are remarkably different, all are/were also rather ordinary or typical by cat standards. Janey was not. We've never met a more trusting creature, not just to us but to everybody, unflappable, gregarious and *the* most intelligent cat we've ever encountered. And while it's never been easy to lose a cat here at the defacto shelter, because Janey was such a fixture to us, this has shaken us in a way that goes far beyond the usual hurt and sadness of losing a pet.
s&ra and I would like to thank any of you who took even just ten seconds to scritch Janey or sit on the porch and experience the general ambiance of the place, usually with her on your lap or sitting next to you. The Dauphine, and as it turned out Janey, are the reasons s&ra and I are in Missouri: that ability to kick back on the front porch and watch the world go by with a cat in your lap. And I know I can "speak" for Janey in saying how much she thoroughly enjoyed your company, be it brief or long. I hope her ghost or her spirit will remain on the front porch of the Dauphine as she now resides in front of her favorite afternoon spot on the cistern when she'd watch the trains and bubbas go by. So please take some time the next time you're here to sit on the porch, relax and remember how much the official Dauphine Greeting Committee wanted you to be there.