My first "child": George Smith-Mahoney

The model, the man, the "it" :)

He preferenced the hyphenated name, it was his choice, and we felt it was the least we could after the "trauma" of having to move in with Milton first, and then Lloyd. 

After 8 years of good, bad and really hysterical times, George died on Saturday, September 3rd.  He wasn't feeling well early Saturday morning (he had been sick and wasn't able to walk much or comfortably), so I took him to the vet, fingers crossed that he had an ear infection or something simple.  Not the case.  After an exam and an x-ray, the vet recommended that they perform an "exploratory" surgery to see what the mass they found was, or if it was fixable.  They performed surgery and found that George had a ruptured cancerous mass in his small intestine that had spread all across his abdomen and had caused a serious infection in his system.  Devastatingly, there was nothing we could do to help George get better and had to say goodbye to him for good. 

Since Saturday, I've had up and down moments (mostly down), thinking about George and how much we miss him in our everyday lives.  But there have been a lot of funny memories and stories that have come to mind too.  Mike and I joked about our decorative pillows, a "favorite" of George's every night....if you don't know more details on this spsecial little quirk of George's, don't ask.  I was recounting the last time George went to the vet, where he also had major surgery, and came home with an e-collar and a shaved behind, trying to keep his dignity while pooping out what can only be described as human-sized poop after being at the vet for over two weeks. It was a particularly hilarious, and stinky, moment in our lives.  Ivy and Adam were kind enough to indulge me in stories of George also, which always includes the one of Sophie chasing George up a 40ft tree outside the pod (you had to be there, it really was amazing)!  Ivy even poured out some beer for her homie George, he would have been upset that she wasted beer, but appreciative of the gesture!

Mike and I are slowly getting used to the changes, no George to help supervise shower time or our morning bathroom routine in general (every time you walked in to the closet you had to give him a head butt and a kiss), no George to climb on my chest and put his nose to my nose while I scratch his head, and no George to walk around over my shoulder all morning and after work, getting his dose of mandatory affection before he wanted to be left alone.  And no George for Lloyd to climb on or eat his tail (the chunks of orange fur sticking out of his mouth always gave this away, we didn't willingly let Lloyd eat his tail), most importantly!  He was a wonderful part of my life for 8 years and Mike's for 1 1/2 years and it's been a devastating loss, but we are trying to take the good memories in with the sad times.  We received his cremated ashes today, it was tough.  But when it gets really bad, Mike gives me a head butt and lets me rub my cheek against his and it feels a bit better.  So here's to one of the most beautiful, entertaining, and loved cats/children there was, you will be missed Georgie and we love you! 

Taken of George last week, as he watched me rolling around on the floor taking pictures of Lloyd!

P.S. Thank you all for your kind words and support during this hard time for us.  I am well-aware that this kind of sentiment about a cat seems excessive or dramatic to some people, but he meant a lot to us and we are very grateful for everyone's understanding!

P.P.S. A special thank you to Ivy and Adam for being such wonderful guests on such an unfortunate weekend!  They came to the vet, did everything they could to help and and were so understaning despite it being their anniversary weekend trip.  We love you guys!