(Cat)Astrophe Robert Puss Shannon b. April 17, 1987, Denver, Colorado d. October 24, 2003; Pearl River, New York Puss came to me on August 17, 1987 when he was just four months old. My mom found him as a stray and kept him for me, until I returned from a weekend camping/fishing trip with my dad (God rest both of their souls). Puss claimed that he came from New Hampshire (inside joke), but he was long on unfounded storieshe strayed from someone in Denver. I was alone at the time, living in my tiny Capitol Hill condo, and it was just he and I, dad and young boy. We basically raised each other, as I was but no more than a child myself at the tender young age of 31. We went through it all together, he and Ithe loss of both parents, a life partner and his beloved sister(Cat)Alina. But there were so many good times that we went through together tooright up to the very end. He and I moved, along with Brent and Alina to a spacious Congress Park bungalow in 1991. Puss and Alina both love the house immediately as it have them space to roam, abundant window views and of course an nearly endless supply of hiding placesPuss thusly naming our new home at the House of Many Caves. In 2000, we set out to New York with John and Tucker (our precious canine that came into the family in 1992). Although the new house in Chestnut Ridge didnt provide the window access to which hed grown accustomed, Puss loved the house, as it is even more spacious than the one from which we moved and also provides a goodly supply of caves. We lived together here, until last Friday when he met his untimely and unexpected demise at the local animal hospitalso sudden, so unexpected, so tragic and so very heartbreaking. It will not be a short period of time that I come to handle this wellnone of us ever completely get over a loss like this, we just learn to cope better over time, and thats what Im trying to do: cope. Its hard to believe that a missing nine pounds in a house this side could leave such a huge voidbut thats just the physicalPuss spirit and personality weighed far more than that in our lives. Never have I had such a companion that was truly mine and mine aloneas Brent once said about Puss, I was his World. While he tolerated, and maybe even liked, some other people throughout his life, he loved his dad and worshipped the ground that I walked onquite an undeserved tribute, but a wonderful and cherished tribute nonetheless. Puss was a very intelligent cat; personality galore (as John says, he never knew a cat with so much personality); but, he was a living contradiction: he demanded his independence and, especially in the early years, wanted little to do with graphic displays of affectionyet, much more often than not, I could look down and hed generally be within the very near vicinity of my feet, looking at me as if to say, what are you doing here? But I knew better, he wanted to be near me, just like when he always slept on my legs on the bed. Another contradiction: Although he tended to have a nasty disposition, especially toward others, he almost always had a purr and many kisses for his dad when I picked him up or snuggled with him on the sofahe was actually extremely loyal and affectionate; but it had to look like it was his idea at the time, of course. I know that many people treat their animals like theyre their own childrenI believe this is particularly true and magnified for those of us that do not have, and never will have, children of their own, for whatever the reason. With the void of human offspring, the animals take on an even more important and stronger role in our livesthey are definitely our surrogate children. While not physically flesh and blood, they are spiritually, as they become so intertwined in, and integral parts of, our lives. Thats the case with all of my pets, and certainly with Puss. He was so much more than a cat; more than a pet; more than a companion and a friendhe was like my son. I loved him so. We even had dialogue (where of course I had to vocalize both his and my lines), where we discussed things, argued, shared, compromised and adoredIll miss (hell, I already do miss) our discussions. As for the other members of the family: John is trying to cope the best he can, and Tucker and Pongo are doing all right, although its apparent that they realize hes not here and sense something is wrongespecially Tucker. But animals seem to have an incredible resilience and ability to adapt and move onan attribute that we humans can only hope to approach. Perhaps its their lack of intelligence as compared to humans (although thats debatable on many levels), or perhaps its just their evolution from the wild and the survival gene. I know that youre in a place now where no pain or harm can come to you; your with your Uncle Brent and your sis; enjoy their company and take care of them. So, for this mortal life, from a heartbroken dad: its good-bye old friend. But fret not, youll always be in my memories as long as I shall live, and we shall be together for eternity when we meet again, upon the Rainbow Bridge.