Willow
I did have another blog planned for this month but then sadly, yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Willow so I felt as so many of our customers knew Willow, it was only right that I tell everyone a little bit about this amazing cat and why he touched our hearts so much.
One day my phone rang and it was a good friend asking if I wanted a kitten. Where she worked at
the time had a stray cat arrive at their site who promptly had 3 kittens. They were keeping 2 but that just left one on its own. So Wills came to stay. That was almost 16 years ago!
Wills very quickly took lead role in our home. He very rarely wandered off our premises and every time he saw us he demanded to be picked up and cuddled. He would put his paws either side of your face and push his face into yours purring all the time. He liked nothing better than to sit on your shoulder while we tried to get on with whatever we were doing.
Unlike a lot of cats, he loved travelling in the car! He would meet us at the top of our drive, jump in and sit either in the
passenger seat or on the lap of whoever was driving and ride down to the house. If you were loading the car you had to double check where he was or else you were off with him as passenger. One day, I was due to teach at a different venue and then go on to Dorset to train my own dogs. I did think the dogs were behaving a bit differently on the way there but didn’t think anything of it until I arrived at the training venue, opened the back up to give my dogs some water and there he was, bold as brass, sitting in amongst the dogs, who were so shocked they were sitting huddled up on one side away from Wills!! I didn’t have time to take him home before I travelled to Dorset so there was nothing for it but to take him too! He loved every minute and even had a cuddle with my agility trainer when we arrived.
He did like to tease the dogs we had boarding though! If we were working in the kennels it was very common to find him lying on the top of the kennels, out of reach from the dogs but in full view!
When customers brought their dogs to stay he would always sit just out of reach, quietly watching the dogs. Willow used up a couple of his lives though......he ruptured his cruciate ligament on one occasion and on another was sadly mauled by a dog who left him with a mangled liver. My vet was amazing, rushing him into surgery and basically saving his life.
If we were doing any work outside the kennels, Wills would be there, watching and demanding cuddles. Wills was so sweet, you could never deny him cuddles so some jobs took rather a long time to finish!
So Wills......you will be loved and remembered forever and a day and I am left totally heartbroken.
