$peck: A One-of-a-Kind Friend

"...if you touch(ed) me, you'll understand what happiness is, let the memories come again."

   Our beloved $peck was affectionally and appropriately known by so many as Mr. Personality because of his tall, dignified stature, his gentle ways, and his expressive mannerisms.
 

   $peck left this Earth, but not our hearts and minds, at 11:30 PM on Sunday, September 6, 1998 after a very long, but not terribly painful illness. It was just about a month before $peck's presumed* 12th birthday when Old Deuteronomy (we'd like to believe) selected him, just before midnight, to be reborn to another Jellicle Life.

   We know not when or where $peck was born, but Howard found him - or, perhaps we should say $peck found Howard - in the fall of '88 in the parking lot of a Memphis synagogue. It was no surprise that $peck adored Gefilte Fish and Matzah Ball Soup. A black & white shorthair with a little speck on his lip (that's how he got his name), he was part Siamese. That contributed to how very verbal he was. He had a distinctive vocabulary including words sounding very much like "owwwwwt" (when he was younger and spent part of his day on neighborhood adventures) and "millllllllk" (which he repeated as he headbutted the fridge til someone poured him a little bowl of white liquid). And, he always made it clear when he wanted his food NOWWWwwwwww !!
 

   It was no concidence they met near a synagogue. $peck's life was full of miracles. He, himself, was a Gift from Heaven, appearing at a time when Howard's young stepchildren were grieving the loss of another little black and white kitty (appropriately named Kitty), killed by an automobile. $peck was already neutered and must have belonged to someone, once. He'd obviously been abandoned and was very hungry. While the adults were attending holiday services, children were outside playing with the cat; the synagogue caretaker gave him some food. A week later, Howard saw $peck wandering there again and was told that the cat had been there every day, all week. Still hesitant about taking someone else's cat, Howard returned to the parking lot late one night the following week. Lo and behold, out of the cold dark woods surrounding the property, there came $peck ... with his (then) mournful cry NOWWWWwwwwww, a sound that was to become his joyous trademark.

   $peck jumped right into Howard's arms and, almost as quickly, into his car. When Howard got home, 4.5 miles away, he planned to carry $peck into the house and surprise his stepchildren. $peck had other ideas and seemed to run away. Howard feared the cat was going to try and find its way home. Instead, $peck took one walk around the block and reappeared at Howard's front door 3 minutes later, as if to say "OK, I checked out the neighborhood, and its kewl! I think I'll stay, thank you." And stay he did, especially since Howard and his family checked the newspaper for weeks (as well as the neighborhood where $peck was found), and no one ever declared him lost.
 

   In his younger years, $peck was a 50/50 indoor/outdoor cat. And it was not like he only came home when he was hungry, either. It was just that he loved his little adventures. One of the most gentle souls in creation, $peck loved everything. A fond memory (without photographs to show it, of course), is how $peck used to love to play with frogs in the backyard. He never hurt one of them, he never would. But he got so excited to see them hop when he bopped them very lightly on their heads. He'd spend hours playing with frogs, and one would have thought they enjoyed it as much as he did !
 

   In 1993, Howard accepted a new job in Ohio and moved there without his family. $peck (and Puddie) moved with him, and the three really bonded then. It was a difficult and lonely time for Howard, and $peck played an important role of confidant and comforter. While the two cats still spent much time outdoors, Puddie had a tendency to stay away for days while $peck always came home within a few hours. At times, Howard would send $peck out to find Puddie, and he would often return home with her in a matter of minutes. About a year later, Diane came on to the scene and brought Stormy Bear with her.
 

   $peck developed diabetes in '95 but initially responded well to insulin shots administered at home. He continued to do rather well, thanks to the able care of the folks at the Chillicothe Animal Clinic where $peck made frequent visits to his local veteraniarn and good friend, Dr. (believe it or not) Petzel. That's right - PETzel. With a name like that, what could one be BUT a veterinarian ! Then, one night in '96, $peck suffered a series of horrible seizures as if his paw had been stuck in an electric socket. An irregular heart rhythm was then discovered. Wired to telemetry at Ohio State University's Veterinary School of Medicine, $peck spent a week in intensive care in the good hands of Dr. Tacey Kenny. She consulted with a Feline Cardiolist in an effort to come up with a full diagnosis and prognosis. The latter was not good. The Feline Cardiologist said a cardiac pacemaker might help, but she did not think $peck was even strong enough to survive the surgery. Frankly, she did not think his chances were good at all. The surgery was never performed, but $peck was a fighter.
 

   He returned home to a routine which included insulin shots twice a day, plus four different cardiac drugs, some once a day, some twice a day. By and large, he took his shots, pills and liquids like a man. Miraculously, his diabetes went into remission for a full year! In October of '97, the diabetes resurfaced and he went back on insulin again. Dr. Petzel began to theorize that $peck was not really diabetic at all, but that he had a pancreatic condition in which his body would sometimes create the needed insulin, and sometimes stop (usually during times of stress or other illness). That would account for the many, many times yet to come when $peck would need, then not need, insulin shots ... and why it was so difficult to find the right dosage when he did.
 

   In the final year of his life, $peck had at least half a dozen episodes when his body would show drastic and violent signs that he did not need and, in fact, was overdosed on, insulin. At these times, he became temporarily blind. He would get very weak, stumble around the house, bump into objects and step right into his food and water bowls. Each time, he required immediate doses of syrup to counteract the insulin, and a trip to the vet for a glucose check. Each time, $peck fully recovered his eyesight within a few hours and, by the next day, regain some of his strength, agility and positive attitude. But, each time, it seemed to sap him just a little bit more. And, within a few weeks, he was back on insulin again!
 

   It was the last week in August '98, that we (Howard and Diane) flew to California for 10 days. Because $peck needed so much medical attention and was again in the midst of insulin regulation, he stayed at the Chillicothe Animal Clinic. Puddie and Bear were boarded at another kennel a few miles away. Halfway through our trip, we got a long distance call from Dr. Petzel that $peck was extremely ill. He had not eaten in nearly a week and was losing weight rapidly. Dr. Petzel wanted suggestions on how to encourage $peck to eat. He and his staff did everything possible, everything we could think of. The medical staff went to a local grocery and bought fresh fish to microwave; they even went to the other kennel and brought Puddie to visit $peck. Nothing helped. We felt powerless and devastated, not to mention guilty. We kept thinking, if we had not gone, we could have helped him through this. But we could not cut our trip short; our flight home seemed endless, and we were not even sure $peck would be there when we got back. Although the clinic was already closed when we landed in Ohio, Dr. Petzel met us at the clinic so we could take $peck home. $peck actually crawled across the clinic floor into Diane's arms and recognized her. In his prime, $peck had weighed nearly 12 pounds. In the course of his illnesses, his weight fluctuated from 7 to 9 pounds. Now, it looked like he was down to 5 pounds or less.
 

   $peck's final trip home was 6:00 pm that Saturday night, and all he wanted to do was sleep. We wanted to believe that if we got some nutrition into him and let him sleep a lot, he would slowly regain his strength and rally yet one more time. We took turns, waking him every two hours, round the clock, feeding him little eyedroppers full of kitty milk, broth, finely pureed cat foods. He seemed to be holding it down ok. A few times, he tried to make it into the kitchen - to his own food or water bowl or litter box, perhaps. But after a few steps, he would collapse in exhaustion and fall back to sleep right where he fell. Each time, we hoped he was getting a bit stronger, but each time we knew he was getting weaker and weaker. What was both excrutiatingly painful to us, and yet tremendously gratifying, was that $peck had held on this long - he had waited for us to come back and take him home - to hold him, love on him --- and say good-bye. Twenty-nine hours after we brought him home, while Howard was holding him, $peck's body began to quiver. He had one or two seizures like the ones he had 25 months earlier, but not as intense. With Diane and Puddie sitting right there at his side, $peck took one last gasp and his head slumped fast and sure, for the last time.
 

   We always kidded him about the "$" sign in his name 'cuz he surely racked up medical bills; but he was our best friend in some of the worst times ... and he knew it ! He was worth whatever it took to try and keep him happy, healthy, and with us ! We just didn't want him to suffer needless pain, and we vowed never to let that happen.
 

   $peck really didn't suffer much at all, according to Dr. Petzel, who believes he had probably sustained one or more strokes already, and that his final few moans were only physical reactions. Unable to get his insulin regulated properly in the last month or so, he had been going down hill even before we went away --- we knew that. We also knew, two years earlier, that the final battle had begun. But it was not a battle that $peck lost. He fought valiantly, with dignity and honor, and he finally chose his time and place - with us at his side - to go on to greater adventures we do not yet understand.
 
 

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