The end of the reign of the Turkey Thief

My darling Patches came bouncing into my life at the beginning of 2010. He was full of life, terribly energetic and dangerously cute. It’s no secret that I totally fell for him and he showed his absolute devotion to me by attaching himself to my person literally. It’s still pretty much early days in 2019… and my darling boy is no longer with us. We were forced to say goodbye. 

In 2017, he survived a poisoning in January and then had a tumour removed from his liver in October. He seemed to have fully overcome these setbacks and he bounded back into life. The moment he could, he started trying to catch birds in the garden. He’d stick his head into a bush and despite his wagging tail sticking out, he seemed to think he was invisible. From there, he would spring into action. I was amused and he had a ball. Am not sure the birds were on the same page with either of us. Though I must say that at times, it felt like they were on friendly terms with him. 

There were also his own silly ways of doing things that he had gone back to. He had his own routines when given a biscuit, for instance. He would run with it to the carpet, drop it on the carpet and then prance about it. He had so much joy within him and really enjoyed the little things I know I often take for granted. 

He had over the past year, developed an affinity for pears! This was almost hilarious to watch as he couldn’t quite get over how easy it was for him to chew on a piece of pear. It’s almost as if he expected the crunch from a bone! I loved feeding him pears. I loved feeding him, period. 

Whenever he felt the injustice of not being fed, which was quite an imagined case, he would help himself to whatever food he could get his paws on. One new year’s day a couple of friends and I got together somewhat impromptu. One of them had brought a salad with chicken in it. At one point, we’d all stepped away from the dining table. When we got back, we realised that all the chicken in the salad had not so mysteriously vanished. There stood my darling turkey thief, as I call him, feigning perfect innocence! 

We really loved our walks together. I think that Patches was in love with life. He sniffed at everything along the way, especially flowers and sought to smell every single flower we passed on our walks. He was patted by a lot of the kids in our housing area. Some were afraid of dogs but decided this gentle, docile creature was safe enough to pat. Their faces displayed their joy in being so brave and Patches’ face displayed satisfaction at being so loved. 

He’d become a little shyer of people ever since the last operation in 2017. He’d stick even closer to me whenever we had visitors at home. He was probably the most comfortable with women. He never shied away from getting back rubs and ear scratches. In fact, he would ever so kindly, position himself so that they didn’t have to stretch too much to rub his back. My boy was so thoughtful. 

I’ve been out of work since March 2018. Except for some freelance work, I’ve been at home. These 11 months with my darling Patches have been really wonderful. All this while, I could see how happy he was that I wasn’t running off without him. He was so content with our walks and our afternoon siestas. He started drinking out of my mug, just as a matter of fact. We apparently share things! He followed me around from the time we woke up until we went to bed. All this happened because I quit work to focus on my RA. I’ve been pondering and wondering whether I made the right decision and how to get back to work, when I now see that this time together was so special. God knew. God gave me this without even me asking for it. Providence, indeed. 

All I can say for now is that my boy was a blessing to me. He lifted my spirits in so many ways and helped me cry when I am so good at suppression. I’ve had bouts of giggles because of his silliness and I’ve had a steady companion. He has taught me lessons in how I should be approaching God and also on how much God has supported us through community. Even now, in my sadness, I am lifted because of His comfort through an outpouring of love from family and friends.  The realisation I now have about this time granted to me to be with my boy, the turkey thief, overwhelms and humbles me. I seek His grace that one day, the turkey thief and I will be reunited and that in the meantime, while I soldier on, I will be grateful always for the blessing He gave me. 

My darling Patches, I will miss talking to you, cuddling you, feeding you and just having you. You were such a good boy, my love. You’ll always be my boy. Love you.