The Prairie Dogs Get Romeo

Our beloved cat, Romeo (aka, Romes, Buddy Bud, Big Boy, Special One, and more) was put to rest this morning after a short battle with cancer--in his intestines and stomach. He was almost 13 years old, as best as we and the vets could determine. Terry rescued him from a no-kill shelter about 9 years ago, so his exact age was not known.

What ties us together in this was that he passed away from cancer, and how he gave me so much love and support in the worst times of my own treatment. When I was spending most of every day in bed, Romeo would jump up and keep me company for hours on end. He somehow knew I was hurting and was there to see me through those awful days. He was very much a part of Team Mike.

So, this could be the Prairie Dogs' revenge--picking on my Buddy Bud who could not defend himself from them the way I was able to. Cowardly f**ks.

Two years ago I gave Terry a funky, tall cement yard ornament cat for Christmas. So, after Romeo passed, we brought him home and buried him under the cement cat, with the cat facing the house--so Romeo can keep his eye on us for the rest of our lives. Check out the photo above and send some good vibes to Romeo in Cat Heaven. He was loved very much and will be missed even more.

mike

Update on Mara

Several of you have asked about Mara, so I thought I'd give you an update--but I wish it could be more positive. Mara has been doing daily physical therapy sessions at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for the last two weeks. Shepherd is considered one of the very best facilities in the world for treating spinal and nervous system disorders and accidents.

Even with that level of care, Mara's progress has tapered off considerably. Just three weeks ago it looked very much like she would be able to attend her high school graduation and even walk to receive her diploma. That seems to now be an impossible dream and it is not likely that she will even be able to attend, as the logistics of transporting her to an event like that are very difficult and risky to her safety.

Please keep up your good vibes for her and her family. It has become a very long and difficult struggle for them in so many ways, and they need all the support they can get.

mike