Marley rescued me in January of 2008 when she was 9 weeks old. My ex-husband and I walked into a pet store and walked right past the little fluff ball, as my peripheral vision thought she was a Persian kitten. I fell in love with her as soon as I got her out of the cage! Her personality won us over and I’ve never regretted choosing her. Due to my mix-up of initially thinking she was a kitten, she quickly got the nick name “Pretty kitty.”
I spent the first 4 years of her life driving over-the-road with my husband (at the time). I often zipped her up inside of my coat in the winter months and brought her into truck stops, etc., without anyone knowing as she was so small.
She loved to snuggle and loved being with us 24/7. Likewise, I suffered from separation anxiety probably as much as she did every time I had to leave her for more than a few minutes at a time.
Marley had a beautiful personality and loved to play. She was my shadow – she followed me into whatever room I walked into – I was never alone in my years with her. She loved riding in the truck or any vehicle. She just wanted to be with me. Her unconditional love was such a blessing to me. She loved green beans, scrambled eggs, angus beef burgers, albacore tuna, bologna and peanut butter! She also loved her Teenie Greenies dental treats, and just about anything I was eating, she would sit by my feet and stare me down. That look on her face always melted my heart. Her eyes had so much expression in them.
When she was a small puppy, we found a cheetah that resembled a bear-skinned rug with the head sticking up and each paw had a squeaker in it. That became her favorite toy. She got excited whenever we put it near her. She laid on it… slept on it and she played with it… she loved that cheetah. It was so funny to watch her with it. Her little eyes lit up each time she got to play with it.
I neglected to take her to the vet for regular teeth cleanings as I had no idea how important they are to our fur babies. Unfortunately, when she was 8-9 years old, she had to have all but 4 teeth pulled because of it. From that day on, her tongue would always be slightly out of her mouth. That also led to her having Cushing’s Disease. I gave her daily medication for it for the rest of her years.
In January of 2022, I took her to my family vet for her annual check-up and was told I was extremely lucky she was still alive at the age of 14, especially for as many years as she had Cushing’s Disease. That really struck me hard and made me cherish my days with her that much more, knowing her days were most likely numbered.
On February 18th of 2022, I took her to my veterinarian as she was showing less interest in food. My veterinarian diagnosed her with lymphoma, assuring me she wasn’t in any pain yet. She suggested I start thinking of end of life options. She gave me a prescription of steroids to stimulate her appetite. She also gave me two brochures of veterinarians that would come out to our home to put her down in her own home to ease her stress and keep her comfortable. I didn’t know that was an option!!