RIP Leroy...His Story

Last night (Easter) I found out my little buddy, Leroy had died.  I felt on Friday that it probably would be the last time I saw him.  I'm sad that he is gone, but know he is no longer in any pain or discomfort.  The next few paragraphs below tell how he spent his last few days and how he had arrived at STAF...an amazing story.


Leroy - May 2012

 


"I'm heavy-hearted today - I had to put our sweet cat area greeter, Leroy, to sleep last night.  He was as darling as always, purring and flirting at the vet.  (He loved going to the vet - goofy boy :-)  But he had stopped eating, his kidneys were failing, and his little body had had enough.  Definitely time to let him go.  I'm so sorry.

Leroy came to us after riding on the underside of a truck from Highland County, all the way to Tri-County Mall - close to 60 miles.  I figure if he can do that, he was absolutely meant to be with us.  He was adopted at one point, but returned for requiring a bit too much attention.  Definitely our gain!  After ear surgery a year and a half or so ago, his body changed, his organs stressed.  But he became a roamer cat and inheriting the "greeter" job from Hubie, was able to recover enough from liver failure to stick with us for quite awhile.  What an amazing little man!

I know the reason he lasted so long was the attention and love of the volunteers, the amazing care of our medicators, and the near constant feeding and fussing from our team leaders.  Thank you all for giving him so much.  I'm so thankful for all the happiness he had."


This is one of the earlier pictures I took of Leroy when he lived in Room 8.

The following paragraphs are some memories of Leroy written by another volunteer. 

"What a great guy. I will never forget him. He loved having his stitches "itched' on his neck, after his surgery, even after they had healed. What a survivor, riding that truck. I had a feeling that this was coming but he just seemed to be unstoppable, whether it was wanting attention, begging for food or wanting to drink out of the faucet.

 

It seems funny now, but I remember one Saturday when Jean could not find him when he needed his meds. It seemed like he couldn't be found for HOURS, because he couldn't hear us calling for him. He was "hiding" somewhere, sleeping off one of his many meals, oblivious to all the people looking for him. We were really worried that we had lost him, that he had finally succeeded in one of his many "escape attempts" and was now hanging-out across the street at Wendy's and Wal Mart. What a character!

 

When a truck passes me on the highway, I look over at it and look underneath and wonder, "how the heck did he pull that off, riding there for 60 miles?". Unforgettable, for sure. Thanks to everyone who cared for him and kept him with us for so long. Yes, he is over the Rainbow Bridge with Hubie, looking for some flaked fish."

 

 We all have wonderful memories of Leroy...he will be greatly missed by us all.

 

I hope that Mick and Tim do not mind me sharing their memories of Leroy on my blog.  We all love the animals at STAF so much, I'm sure they will be OK with it.