In Memorium

On the morning of Sunday, April 1, 2012, Asterisk past from us into whatever hopeful dreams in which we wish to spend our eternities

He was our first fertie, the last of the OG crew that once ran rampant through our halls. He's the one who would terrify friends with his easy use of sharp teeth. The one who once, after I finished explaining that he always gently removed the treats from my hand, mistook a bit of finger for the food at close range. He tried to run under the couch with my fat digit firmly in his grip. When first introduced to Didymus, our fearless little snaggletooth runt, he tried to drag him behind the bookshelf with all of his other stolen possessions. He seemed to get a great amount of joy from making my wife squeal as he chased her around the room and I'm pretty sure that I caught him devising new ways to cause mischief several times. He helped Critter, bitter old man that he was, during his own sickness, with comfort and play as needed. In his last months, when he wanted to be held, he would tell me with a sharp nip on my feet.

He was my big man. A tough bastard that weathered his last days with a strength I can only hope to show when my own time comes. Unable to walk, he crawled. Cleaning himself when he could no longer eat because appearance was apparently quite important to him. He still dictated where he would rest and how, even though we had to carry him much of the time.

I felt his last breath, and with it all that he was, leave him. While our house is not void, it is a little more empty. A little less full of joy and gibbering goofiness. That little bit makes all the difference now, and I'll miss him dearly.

Goodbye, dear friend and carpet shark extraordinaire.

addendum: if you have a moment, please stop by Piper Morgan's blog for an explanation, in better words than I can possibly conceive, of why I love these little toothy fuckers so much.