Saturday, May 24, 2008

A Sad Farewell


Duchess
Today we say a sad and fond farwell to our Kitty, Duchess "Dutch" Olson.

Duchess joined our family in August of 2003. Katelyn mentioned to Aunt Mani that we "needed" a kitty. 2 hours later, Uncle Denny and Aunt Mani brought us a kitty. (We have some pretty darn cute pictures of her as a baby, but they are stuck on our old computer.) We all fell in love with her right away, including Shu Fu. She was a perfect addition to our family.


About a week ago, Duchess started acting very lethargic and the kids told me she wasn't eating or drinking. Finally, I broke down and took her to the vet. I was afraid of the worst and didn't want those fears confirmed. I was crying by the time I walked through the vet's front door. She did some basic tests and surmised that she most likely had Leukemia. We decided the most humane thing to do was to put her to sleep.

Afterwards, she let me bring her home. I was going to bury her at our rental house. But, I didn't really want to have to leave her there when we moved. When Dana called and asked if Duchess really was sick, they offered to come and get her and bury her at Nana and Papa's house. It was the kindest thing anyone could have done for me that day. Thank you!


Kitty loved to be outside. Not so sure about snow, however!



Kitty loved to drink out of anything that wasn't her water bowl. Here, she is drinking out of a 7-up bottle. In Texas, Daddy spoiled her and got her in the habit of drinking ice water out of a glass on the table.



Here she is "hanging" out with Kat.



Here is a little memorial we created for Duchess on our mantle.

Ali created this video for Duchess.

We love you Duchess and will miss you!!!