Purry

This past week, we said goodbye to our good friend, Purry Como. He came into our family in October of 2010 when Gus was just five months old. We knew our time with him was honestly borrowed, as we knew nothing about what happened to him while a laboratory animal.

When we adopted Purry Como back in 2010, he was pretty active and was always very loud. Purry was named Perry Como originally because of his loud purr that sounded like he was singing. When we had the chance to rename him, we liked the initial thought behind the name and just tweaked it to make us happy.

Purry was always pretty clueless. As far as animals go, he had zero common sense. Chalk it up to being in a cage his whole life, but he was honestly clueless most of the time. This allowed him to just relax and go with the flow and he'd walk around the house and just wander. Often times, he'd walk right under your feet and have no idea why you'd be upset with him.

The last few months were getting more and more difficult to bear. We watched Purry's health slowly deteriorate. He was peeing and pooping in random places all over the house, and his fur and face started to look odd. I can only describe it as saying if you've ever had a sick animal, you know the look that I'm referring to.

Steve decided to take Purry to the vet last Friday (the 14th) and they did a full blood work-up. They said they'd need the weekend to get the results in and as soon as they had them, they'd call and let us know.

We spent the weekend loving on Purry as much as possible, as we had an inclination that it would be his last with us. 

On Monday afternoon, the vet called with the bad news. There was a tumor (cancerous) and while there were options for us, with Purry's age and already declined health, they really would not have been fair to him to pursue. Instead, we made the agonizing decision to end his suffering.

Steve took Purry to the vet by himself, since I had to stay home with Gus and Hugh. It was so hard to say goodbye to him. He was such a special soul and added so much to our family. There was a selfish part of me that told Steve to just not do it... just let him stay home, but I knew better. After Steve left with him, I fell apart.

Steve was so strong and took Purry to the vet and was with him when he left this life. Steve snuggled him, held him, and loved on him as much as possible in the short time before the vet came in. They took Purry back and put the line in, and then brought him back into the room with Steve.

The vet said that he was not happy about the line. :-(

They fed him a few treats and Steve continued to pet him as the medicine passed through his veins. He passed very quickly, and was not in pain, and was next to a person that loved him and gave him the most wonderful life possible. 

Steve came home with the empty cat carrier and we both just cried. The decision to let a pet go is the most agonizing thing that pet owners have to encounter. It hurts and it makes you question your decision. In the end, I know it was the best for him, as I would never have wanted him to suffer. However, it was the most difficult goodbye and still hurts to think about.

I still hear his purr in my head, and I still look for him in the house. I don't know when I'll see him again, but I look forward to being reunited with him.

Here are some pictures of our sweet Purry.

 Taken in 2010

 So happy to have a home and people that love him

 Gus loved Purry so much

 He was so laid back... he didn't know he wasn't supposed to let Elphie put his head in her mouth!

 Always loved to be touched

 The last weekend with us... he just wanted to snuggle on Gus's bed

 Gus had no idea that Purry would be leaving us soon

 The last pictures of Purry. Taken just before leaving us

He was an awesome cat and had such a sweet temperament. He always wanted to be around people, wanted to be touched, and loved life. Our house a not the same without him, and the sweet sound of his purr is something I'll always remember.

A Few of Gus's Favorite Things...

 

Sheer Delight

Gus is a very funny little man. We call him "baby man" actually, and tell him that he's a silly boy all the time. He does things that absolutely crack us up and make us laugh. He enjoys making us happy and likes to make us laugh. He has a unique laugh and it's contagious. 

There are definitely some things that bring more joy to Gus's life than others. He has a list of favorite things and I thought I'd share just a few with my readers. In no particular order, here we go!

Balloons

I don't know too many toddlers who don't love balloons. I'm not sure what it is about them, but Gus just loves them and is totally excited when he sees one and gets to take it home with him.

 

 

Trains

I vowed that we would not get into the whole Thomas craze. That went out the window the first time we had a play date at a friend's house and they had Thomas and Chuggington trains. Gus was in love and so the obsession began. He loves watching the Thomas movies on Netflix and loves to watch Chuggington on Disney Jr. He also loves anything train-related and his favorite iPad apps are all train apps. Funny enough, he is scared to death of trains in real life. We went to the train museum (they have train rides) and he freaked out. Go figure.

Mickey Mouse

Gus has loved Mickey Mouse since he was a baby. I think it has something to do with Mickey's high-pitched voice. While he loves Mickey, he also really, really enjoys Chip and Dale. They make him laugh all the time and he will watch old cartoons over and over and laugh like it's the first time he's seen it.

 

A Mickey that he designed on my iPhone

 

Watching Mickey Mouse Club House with his good friend Aubree

 

Enjoying an episode of MMCH on his iPad

Slides and Swings

Gus is happiest when he's either in a swing or sliding down a slide. He prefers a swing over a slide, but he really enjoys both. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to climb up to the top of where a slide is. Some days he's brave, and others he shakes like a leaf and gets clammy. He always has fun on a swing though!!

His iPad

I never thought my two-year-old would have an iPad. Seriously. It's a bit on the ridiculous side. However, I wanted to get him a Leap Pad for Christmas and they're like $200. When Steve and I decided to get ourselves the new iPads (my first), we decided to give Gus Steve's old one (that I bought him two years ago). We love the iPad for so many reasons, but mainly because of all the wonderful educational apps that we can put on it. We have some fun apps too, but many of Gus's favorites include things that he loves (trains) and learning in some way. I'm able to put some awesome videos on there too and Steve uploaded a few of Gus's favorite cartoons and movies. 

 

Putting together a puzzle while on the potty (he didn't potty in it)

 

Watching a movie on our 12+ hour drive north

 

Counting with "The Number Train" video

 

Enjoying his iPad

Jumping and Galloping

Most kids start to jump at around 18 months (that's about when Gus finally mastered it) and galloping between 36-48 months. Gus has already mastered galloping. He gallops around the living room all the time when he's dancing and enjoying music. He's going up and down the stairs without assistance (not even holding the wall or railing) and is now jumping off the bottom step and curbs. He's amazing.

GoGo Squeeze

You'd think he'd get sick of eating the same stuff, but Gus has a few favorite foods in his arsenal. One of his absolute favorites is GoGo Squeeze. It's so liked that I have a subscribe and save subscription that sends me 48 pouches every month. He usually eats one to three pouches of applesauce a day. He loves it.

Charlie C. Horse (get it... like seahorse???)

When we moved Gus to his big boy bedroom, we found that he kept taking the nightlight off the wall and sleeping with it. He was taking his iPod off the dock and sleeping with it. We were confused about why they kept appearing in his bed, and then it dawned on us that he was probably comforted by the light and the music. 

So I looked around and found this awesome glow seahorse on Amazon and decided to get him one for his 1/2 birthday (in November). Well, I found one at a consignment sale and it was $3!!! STEAL!! We named it Charlie C. Horse and Gus loves him. He has him with him all the time and won't leave his room without Charlie.

I found a similar thing called a Dream Light (it's a pillow pet with a light) and we got it for him for his 1/2 birthday. It's a dinosaur and will match his room and I know he's going to just LOVE it!!

Helping

Gus loves to help others. His favorite thing to do is to push the stroller or grocery cart while out. He also likes to help with grabbing items while we grocery shop. He doesn't understand that throwing the cans on top of the bread is a bad thing, but we're working on it.

 

Pushing Aubree at the park

 

Helping Daddy at Home Depot

 

Grabbing cans while grocery shopping

 Babies

Gus LOVES babies!!! He loves to look at them and help with them. Any time he sees a baby he immediately wants to go near it and help it.

 

Helping with the paci (like with his CPK Frankie Steve)

 

Gus and Frankie Steve

 

Gus and June

 Pets

Gus loves animals and is lucky enough to have many pets here at our house. He has his favorites though... he adores Ned (our dog) and his favorite cat is Purry Como. He loves to feed Ned and loves to give both Ned and Purry, hugs and kisses.

 

Feeding Ned his dinner

 

Giving Purry a hug

 

He climbed into Ned's crate to keep him company  :-)

 

Giving Ned a kiss

Water

Gus loves water. He likes to play in the sink, at his water table, in the bath, in the yard in a sprinkler, and his all-time favorite is to swim.

 Popsicles

 'Nuf said.

His Daddy

I'm sure Steve would argue this, but Gus absolutely ADORES his daddy. While he says "mama" all the time and loves me, he just adores Steve. They have a very special bond and always have. I'm so fortunate to have a husband who is an equal when it comes to parenting. Steve is most definitely a hands-on dad, and will do anything for Gus. He plays with him and tickles him and they have a different relationship than Gus and I do and it's just how it should be.

While I'm sure that some of the above things will change as Gus gets older, I'm certain that many things will remain. I pray that Gus will always be helpful, that he always love babies and animals, and that he will always know how special he is and how much his daddy and I love him.