Friday, May 22, 2009

One Year

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day Bonnie Underfoot suddenly ran away to the Rainbow Bridge.

Those who knew her knew she was sassy, crabby, proud, beautiful, stubborn, silly, and sometimes sweet. We could pet her only on her terms. Her man was the only person she really loved. She guarded our house from intruders. She was to be petted little and brushed - never. She chased bubbles, balls of tin foil and ladybugs. She slept in her man's computer chair or on our feet. Running water was a must and if her fountain stopped, she lived in the sink. She terrified an Iraqi war vet, a cub scout troop and a plumber or two.

She was too stubborn to show she was sick. She never liked Victor, but she put up with him because her man wanted her to. A week before she died, they sniffed noses nicely for the first time. The day before she died, he got too close at treat time and she whapped him across the nose like never before. That was her farewell. "Kid, you're alright. But I still don't want you here."

[Scroll down in the photo window to see 59 pictures or click the title to open]


The night of May 21, 2008, Bonnie seemed a little off. She slept beside our bed. At 6 AM, she staggered to the computer room to wait for her man. At 6:30, she collapsed with him at her side. Bonnie died at the emergency vet about 10 AM on May 22, 2008 from hepatitis and possible lymphoma.

Bonnie, we still think of you every day, and we always will.

45 comments:

  1. She was a "one off", delightful, cantankerous, feisty, beautiful, stubborn, her own person, so missed. We still love you Bonnie... :) xxx

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  2. A year already! That is a lovely collection of photos of Bonnie We still miss her and think of her often.

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  3. I can't believe that it's been a year already. I remember so well reading about Bonnie's tolerate-hate relationship with Victor. How he always wanted her to like him. How they sniffed noses at last the day before she died. How you picture her as leading the Rainbow Bridge kitties in a game Thundering Herd of Elephants with her eyes flashing and that flashing showing up here to us as lightning. I will never forget you Bonnie and I think of you often, especially in a thunderstorm.

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  4. Lovely photos.

    Joanne, Jane, Jill, Johnny, Jay boy, Jasmine & Capu from Singapore

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  5. We bet dat she is doin da same stuff at the bridge. A year goes by so quickly in bean time. Catnip all around today in honor of Bonnie!!

    Molly
    Shadow
    Trooder

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  6. Has it been a year already!!

    Bonnie, we hope you are happy.

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  7. Oh, yes, how well we remember Bonnie! Our kind of kitty! Now she's Bonnie in Charge up at the Bridge.

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  8. She was one classy ladycat. :)

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  9. Bonnie was an amazing feline. I enjoyed knowing her so very much. Her charm and grace are forever missed.

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  10. we can't believe it's been one year already! Every time we visit your blog, we think of dear Bonnie.

    Purrs,
    THe cyclone cats

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  11. Purrr....hail twin tabbies! We are tabbies too...and terrible two, said our Mama. We sad Bonnie the tabby has gone to Rainbow Bridge. But we happy now we found you two tabbies.....

    Angelina & Brad
    Terrible Two Tabbies from Sydney

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  12. It doesn't seem like a year has passed, but we do remember Bonnie! This is a nice tribute to your sassy girl.

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  13. A year already? We love 'Crabby Tabby'. That seems to suit Bonnie quite nicely, doesn't it?

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  14. We are startled when you reminded us that our chosen day for Georgia was a year since Bonnie left. It doesn't seem like that long ago. Her presence still feels the blogosphere though she has left it a year ago--we still think of her when we think tough cat!

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  15. No Victor--it didn't hurt. It seemed quite appropriate some how! But of course, being the cats they are, they wouldn't share huh?

    Congrats on being the first cat to guess where I am... actually we're in Sammamish which is east of Bellevue! :)

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  16. I never met Bonnie but who doesn't love a crabby Diva?

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  17. you will be remembered, dear Bonnie.

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  18. That made us really have leaky eyes. We miss Bonnie so much but seeing the tribute made us miss her even more.

    Chase

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  19. I didn't know Bonnie but it was such a lovely tribute I feel like I have a good idea of her personality. It is hard to hear that she had hepatits and possibly lymphoma - we are going through that now with Floyd at our house. And we understand how it just sneaks up on you - they just don't act like they are sick. We are sending purrs out to all you guys and purrs to Bonnie, who is probably frolicking around on the Bridge right now.

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  20. It's been a year? Man... I still think about Bonnie a lot and I still miss her. I think she felt about Victor the way I do Buddah...who is right now whining about something insignificant but apparently OHMYGAWD important to him =sigh=

    Bonnie is one of the first kitties I'm gonna look for when I get to the bridge. She'll know where the Cheeto cheese dust lick it.

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  21. We can't believe Bonnie has been gone a year. We loved the pictures of her, but our favorite is probably still the one of her in the sink that that you have on the blog. She looks like she owns the world, and your taking her picture is due as queen.

    Tavi, Cody, Camie, Miss Jade and Gracie

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  22. You almost miss them more when they were just a little bit of trouble and gave you rules to follow. I hope Bonnie is romping after tin foil & bubbles wherever she is, and that she's having a darned good time. I'm very sorry for you guys, but we all know that no one was loved more than Miss Bonnie Underfoot. Darn those cats and their stinkin' ability to hide being sick. Sweet Pea did the same thing - we lost her the same day we discovered she was sick...within hours. When she was on her way out, it was the first time we'd ever been able to play with her cute little white feet and not get mauled. A bittersweet moment. Perhaps Bonnie & Sweet Pea are hangin' together, Bonnie with her foil balls and Sweet Pea with her sock babies.

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  23. Bonnie was the ULTIMATE Crabby Tabby! - such a character. Can't believe it has been a year. Hugs to you today, and floofy headbutts to Victor and Nina - how great that Nina has come to be a friend for Victor.

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  24. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year already. Bonnie was one of a kind. I still miss her, too.

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  25. Oh Bonnie, we miss you too. It was so nice to look at all those pictures again.

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  26. That is a nice tribute. We miss Bonnie. We know she's smiling down on you all. Big hugs.

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  27. Hey Bonnie, we misses yoo! Who is yoo whappin at da Bridge? Don't whap Chloe there. She'll whap bak. But yall prolly like each ofur. Oh and we's a'memberin yoo dis weekend fur HUG weekend too, likes we did las yeer cuz we missed yoo wif yoo runnin off so fast.
    Purrrrrrrrrs,
    Sanjee and the resta the Hotties

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  28. {{{HUGS}}} to you. Bonnie the Sassy, the female version of ME!

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  29. Looking back with love at a one-of-a-kind lady cat... so many good memories of Bonnie...

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  30. We miss Bonnie so much. Speshully at parties where her and Zippy would sit and complain about all us "brats". We'll alway amember da crabby tabby...

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  31. Bonnie we miss you, too!! You were a one-of-a-kind Ladycat!! We loved the picture show!!
    Your FL furiends,

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  32. Losing someone you love takes a piece of your heart that will never return. You feel a little less than you were when they were with you and a little more for having known them.

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  33. When you lose a cat you love, a cat that touched your heart, the missing them never goes away. We are sorry for your loss. Mom wondered if you'd ever read this before:

    Living Love

    If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember...
    The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter - simply because something in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room - and when you feel it brush against you for the first time - it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

    The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your long-time friend and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see sleep where you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

    And on this day - if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own - on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you - you will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night. If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you. But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul - a bit smaller in size than your own - seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come. And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg - very, very lightly. And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lie - you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely be painful, and leave an ache in your heart. As time passes, the ache will come and go as it has a life of its own. You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.

    But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when - along with the memory of your pet - and piercing through the heaviness in your heart - there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love - like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this love will remain and grow - and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our beloved pets - it is a love that we will always possess.

    ~ Written by Martin Scot Kosins, Author of "Maya's First Rose" ~

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  34. We're amazed that a whole year has gone by already. One of the very first comments we ever made on a blog was expressing our sadness about Bonnie. We know she's purring down at you from the Bridge happy that you've kept her memory alive.

    Sniffie and the Florida Furkids

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  35. Beautiful tribute. Loved the photos. Bonnie was the ultimate crabby tabby.

    hugs and purrs

    Mog, Meowza and Cece

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  36. bonnie is still missed and still loved-always will be :)

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  37. we absolutely loved the photo collection. It does not seem like it has been a year. I know she is with Caesar and all of those beloved kitties, always happy now, always playing just like a kitten.

    purrrs

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  38. Bonnie ran off to the Bridge before we started blogging and had a chance to meet her. She sounds like a true character and we know she is still loved and missed. Thanks for writing about her so we could get to know her.

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  39. Those are lovely pictures of Bonnie Underfoot. We posted {{{{HUGS}}}} in her memory today.

    prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs and tail wags,
    Zeke, Sushi, Tiger Lily and Ruckus

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  40. We put up a Hugs theme in honor of Bonnie. We miss her, too.

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  41. I just can't believe it's been a year already. I was thinking about her the other day because I was tagging a post an Bonnie's name popped up. Still makes me sad to think of such a sudden loss.
    --Jasper

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  42. Haf it been a year already? It seems like yesserday Bonnie ran off an lefted us all heartbroke.
    Mine mommy ML says Bonnie was one of tha CB superstars and she was a star in effurry way.
    And we will never, ever furrget hers... an I's betting we cellybrate Hugs Weekend in honor of Bonnie effurry year.
    Love & Purrs,
    KC

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  43. It doesn't seem like it's been a year since she suddenly left for the bridge. That is a lovely tribute to her.

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  44. Beautiful and fiesty all the way to the end. I miss Bonnie.

    ~5-Cat Style

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