Travis and I have enjoyed talking lately about the quirks of our boy. Remember when…he used to run figure eights in the park chasing the birds, how the birds seemed to tease him and fly low and just out of reach?
Remember when we tried to take him out when Trav would bike and he would run as fast as his short legs could go for about 1 mile and he would soldier on whining with each step trying his hardest to keep up. He would eventually fall back and walk with me, but boy did Bart love to run.
Bart LOVED sleeping on the couch. Recently, we let him adopt an orange blanket that my parents gave us as a house warming gift when we moved to Park City. He would snuggle into that blanket every night and any other blanket he could find. He would scratch around and get the blanket in just the right position so he could snuggle in. Sometimes he would work at it for several minutes until Travis or I would yell at him to settle down, but he was persistent and liked what he liked.
When Bart couldn't jump on the bed anymore, we bought him some stairs. He eventually couldn't use those anymore either because his leg got too bad. We finally stopped lifting him up onto the bed because we were afraid he would do too much damage to his legs when he jumped off during the night. We finally grew a brain and got him some soft beds that he loved to sleep in, barely big enough, but he liked to snuggle in.
Bart loved the Kitty. I feel bad that our cat is the last pet standing in our household. She didn't seem to mind when our cat Izzy went away, but she seems to be a bit more confused now that Bart is gone. They hung out together quite a bit and I have to believe she knows Bart is not coming back.
Bart was also a little stinker. A few years ago when it snowed a TON, I would let Bart outside at night to go potty. One night I went out to see where he was at and looked around the corner to see him walking across the snow over the fence and into the front yard. I caught him and told him to come in and he turned around and went back across the snow bridge and into the house.
We loved to get Bart's hair cut in the summer. He looked like a puppy every time we would take him in. That red collar was the first necklace we bought him…he never took it off. I thought about that recently - he just sort grew into it and we never had to replace it.
I could sit here all night and write about all the ways Bart is missed - normally if I am sitting at the desk typing he is tapping around in the entry and staring at me so I will take him out and then give him a treat before he goes up to bed. Sometimes, if we were watching a loud movie or something, Bart would just put himself to bed. We would go upstairs to see where he went and he would be snuggled in his orange blanket fast asleep.
At the end of his time, he was pretty deaf and going blind. He would stand at the wrong doors to go in or out, we would surprise him on accident by suddenly being next to him when he wouldn't hear us, he would act like he was going to bite Travis when he would pick him up to set him on the couch and Travis would just snuggle into him knowing he wouldn't hurt him. Bart loved Travis so much, he would follow Travis around the house all day long. Trav would avoid going downstairs if he had to grab something off the printer real quick because Bart would be half way down the stairs just to be with him at all times.
It has been an interesting adjustment for both of us. I came home the first week after work and started to ask Travis if Bart had been fed. I look for him when I open the door from the garage so I don't step on him. I miss him ALWAYS greeting me after work; no huge production, he would just be there wagging his tail and waiting for a pat on the head.
Bart was such a huge part of our lives. We do feel we did the right thing letting him go after 16 years with us, but there is a definite void in our home. To remember Bart we took tons of wildflower seeds and spread them all over the hill we can see from our deck. There are animals that go through there all the time and it poured rain the other day, so I am hopeful the seeds will take and they will grow bigger and brighter each year we are here. That will be Bart's hill and we will sit on the deck and look out at the flowers and think about how much brightness he brought into our lives for so many years.
We love and miss you Bart!
I Am Grateful,
HB
P.S. M - Thank you for your note and the hug.
