March 1997 – June 12, 2005

The news today is very sad.

My constant companion of 8 years, my good friend Boogins, suddenly and unexpectedly died this morning.

She was an awesome cat with tons of spunk and character. She will be very missed.

She was in good health, with a coat so noticeably shiny that I wondered what she had been doing differently. She was very excited to be catching voles (these are little rodents, like small mice). First time that I knew of that she had ever caught anything besides bugs. She was awfully proud of herself these last few days.

This morning as I was having my tea, she was napping in one of her favorite spots—my underwear drawer. At about 8:30, she began breathing very heavily. After about 10 breaths, she convulsed and went limp. It was over in less than a minute. We think someone in the neighborhood may have been poisoning the voles that she was catching and eating.

This evening, I invited over a couple of my former roommates and others whose lives Boogie had touched. We had a lovely time sharing memories of her. Then we buried her in one of her favorite spots in the backyard.