Owen was an incredibly healthy cat until his final month, and he lived a life filled with love and leisure. Our hearts are aching today. He will be missed.
Making this loss doubly difficult was the loss that our children experienced. For both of them, this is the first death that they experienced.
Owen's life was an interesting one.
________________________________
Though he was 16 years old at the time of his death, he only learned his name in his last year of life.
________________________________
About ten years ago, he took a fancy to wool and began eating through Elysha's cashmere scarves and sweaters. He would eat the clothing right off your body if you let him.
One morning he sat in my lap and ate a hole in the front of my wool pants which I only discovered at school after I removed my sweatshirt. I was standing in front of the class, teaching, when a girl in the front row said, "Mr. Dicks. I can see your underwear."
Assuming a little bit of my waistband was poking from my band, I said, "Knock it off," and started reaching around my waist to tuck in the offending bit of cotton.
"No," she said, pointing at my crotch. "I can see a lot of your underwear. Like a lot."
She wasn't kidding. It was a hole the size of a softball.
________________________________
I was putting clothing in the dryer one day while listening to music on my headphones. Once all of the clothing was loaded, I closed the door and turned the dryer on. I walked away, listening to the music blare through my headphones, but just as I was about to turn the corner and leave the room, I heard a bang. Then another. Then another. I removed my headphones and realized what was happening. I ran to the dryer and opened the door. A wet, frizzy, terrified Owen leapt from the dryer and sprinted away.
Had the music been a little louder or I had been a little faster, I shudder to think what could've happened.
________________________________
Owen threw up a lot. He was a cat who loved to eat enormous amounts of food and then purge. He also routinely ate plastic, ribbons, paper, and a host of other items and would later (and thankfully purge them as well. It was only through the purchase of the Bissell Spot-Bot, a small carpet shampoo device that Owen was allowed into any room with a carpet.
________________________________
For years, Owen wanted to get outdoors, and it was a constant battle to keep him inside. One day he finally managed to escape for an indeterminate amount of time. When we found him, he was standing by the back door - which was made of glass - desperately trying to get back in. For a cat who took 16 years to learn his name, he learned this lesson quickly. He never tried to escape again
________________________________.
Owen once caught a mouse in our old apartment and would not let it go. He held it in his mouth and made a strange huffing sound as he walked throughout the house with it. Finally, I got Owen to go into the bathroom. I locked myself inside with him and went to battle with him over the mouse, finally extracting the disgusting thing from his jaws.
It was a battle unlike any other.
________________________________
Owen had a brother named Jack who he loved dearly. Jack died back in 2009, and soon thereafter, Clara was born. Losing his brother and suddenly having to share attention with a baby was difficult for him. He lost his mind for a couple years. His grief was palatable and tragic. It was a terrible thing to watch, but eventually, he seemed to accept the loss of Jack and find a new spot on the pecking order that was acceptable for him.
In his last few years, he became a truly sweet and tender boy.
