Bailey Bill Platypus

by Tia
(Valparaiso, Indiana)

I got Bailey when he was 6 weeks old. My friend said I needed a companion as I was devastated from a separation. It's amazing how quickly he took away the pain, filling tears with laughter.

Learning about his food, toys, and sleep preferences kept me occupied, and he would sleep in the bed under the covers with me, giving me warmth at night.

He was so patient in that he waited for me through grad school and now tenure, just loving the bits of time I had with him.

He brought my now husband into my life, and every day I was so excited to go home just to see him.

He loved walks outside on his leash, slow dancing with his mommy, and of course chew chewing on toilet paper.

He was my first pet, my first love and he was taken too soon. Bailey was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 3 months ago at the age of 8 1/2, an extremely rare cancer.

I was devastated, but with chemo I was told that he could live a good quality of life for 12-18 months. His cancer did not respond to chemo.

Instead of focusing on the past 3 months when he began to decline, I want to remember him before he got ill. In summer he loved to walk around the house on his leash, chewing on tall grass and making his way towards the catnip.

We bought him a tent for outside, because he hated being left alone inside while we did yard work.

His favorite toy was a small red Christmas stocking that we called his mousy. Every night he would go hunting for it, and deliver it to me in bed before cuddling up and falling asleep.

He loved to be in the bathroom with me while I took showers, and would sing along. I would sing 3-blind mice, and wherever I paused in the song, he would meow sometimes offering a tune of his own.

He would sit on the sink waiting to be brushed after I finished brushing my hair. He loved to drink out of water glasses and water bottles.

I would sometimes pour his own glass when I got one, but he always wanted the one I was drinking out of. He would grab the glass with his paw and pull it towards him.

Because he was leash trained, he didn't mind wearing outfits, and we routinely dressed him up for Halloween, put him in jackets and he had a cute collection of pumpkin and Yoda hats.

He loved drinking out of a syringe, so when it came time to take medicine, if it could be delivered in a syringe he was all about it.

He loved car rides, especially to Starbucks, where he would get a pup cup and get a bit of cream. I kept him on a very healthy diet with no grain or preservatives, but he loved little treats of mandarin oranges in a can, black beans or chick peas. He couldn't get enough of pumpkin and occasionally would eat a piece of bacon.

He enjoyed jumping into the dryer as soon as the clothes were done, and he would love to follow me around the house. He always had to have a paw or two touching some part of my body while he slept.

Two years ago we bought a house, and the deal was the house had to have steps, so that he could run up and down them, and a big bay window for him to watch birds. I'm glad I was able to give him that in his last two years.

He got one full summer outside in the back yard. I just wish I could have given him another summer, as we just bought a backpack to take him hiking in the woods.

I took him in it for a 10 minute walk down the street on a day he was at his best and he loved it. He wasn't a big fan of people, but that was okay, because he was a fan of me.

He was such a good boy, strong, loving and gentle. He trusted me completely, loved me unconditionally, and I will forever love him with all my heart.

I bonded to him like he was my child, and the gaping whole he left behind is large. When I'm stronger, I know he will want me to find another to bond with, but he will never be replaced.

I hope that the rainbow bridge is real. I hope that he is running around playing with toys basking in the sun on the grass, drinking ice water, and chewing on all the plants.

I pray more than anything that when my time comes, I will get to see him running towards me into my arms and us never being separated again.

Rest in peace my little one. I know you are no longer in pain and I hope that you visit me and check up on me and give me little signs that you are happy, and watching over me. Your job was to love me, and teach me how to love, and you deserve a badge of honor for a task well done.