Unconditional Love

In 1990 my family (the Books) got our first and only pet. Murphy was a kitten we got from a farm in Adel. Although she spent her first few months in a barn, overnight she became a part of our family.

She was so small she could sit on our shoulders when she arrived. Even though Murphy was an indoor/outdoor cat, she quickly grew to a grey, fluffy fat cat thanks to her diet of steak, Italian food (she loved spaghetti and pizza) and every other food that my Dad gave her...which consisted of anything and everything.


Murphy ate very well :)

Murphy loved to go on adventures that kept her out all night, hang out in high places, lay spread eagle on her back for hours at a time, get brushed with the pink E.T. brush, sit on my dad's lap in his lazy boy, bite hands (thanks to the lessons of my brother), sit on the deck and watch "TV", relax in the thorny bushes, revolve through the door every 10 minutes and in general live the high life. This cat lived the life all cats would love to live (if they knew anything different from their real life).

Murphy provided our family so much joy and love. And personally she was there for me through all of the hard times (and there were a lot of them) in high school, in college and in my 20's. I knew whenever I came home Murphy would always be there to pet, hug, lay on me, purr and make me feel better.

After 18 wonderful years, today it was time to say goodbye. Although for the past two years, I've said "goodbye" to her every time I've left my parents' house, I didn't know that two weeks ago when I was home overnight, it would be the real goodbye.

Murphy will forever be missed and loved.

We were unbelievably blessed to have Murphy in our life for 18-years. And I'm sure she felt the same.