Boogie

Name: Boogie

Date of Passing: 08/28/2026

Message to Boogie: On the afternoon of Friday, August 28th, I helped my best friend Boogie cross the Rainbow Bridge. The weight of making this decision is incredibly heavy. In many ways, on the outside, Boogie was still the Boogie I’ve known for 16 years. Handsome, sassy, highly motivated by treats, and being admired from afar. He woke me up every morning without fail demanding chin scritches and his breakfast of Fancy Feast. He loved to watch all of the birds and squirrels who would congregate in the shrubbery and trees in my front window. And when he wanted more treats or play time with his favorite toy “Da Bird” he would jump into his Attention Box until I met his demands.

Last year, just a few short months after my Mom (Boogie’s Nanna) passed away, I discovered a large mass on the back of his back right leg. I decided to have the mass removed and while Boogie’s sass and resilience yielded a speedy recovery, the mass (a soft tissue sarcoma) was in a place that made clean margins impossible, so the chance of recurrence was very high. But this procedure gave us another year and a half together. The mass started to grow back a couple of months ago and by the time we got to see the vet it had doubled in size and ruptured. We had to keep his foot wrapped up in a little bandage boot to protect the mass from further irritation, and the bandage changes throughout the week were an awful experience for both of us. I initially scheduled another removal surgery, but the mass grew at an alarming pace and I sought a second opinion. It would be very risky to remove the mass as it would likely not heal, leaving Boogie at risk for infection (and more of those awful bandage changes). In many cases of soft tissue sarcomas on limbs, amputation is a successful resolution, but at Boogie’s age, I didn’t feel it was safe or fair to Boogie to take that risk. So we enjoyed the past week together, with a constant flow of Temptations, Churus, deli turkey, cheeseburgers, and whatever else Boogie wanted. He got to spend a couple of days with his Grandpa and after taking one last afternoon “Law & Order” nap together, I held Boogie in my arms like the sweet baby he was, wrapped him in his favorite fuzzy biscuit making blanket, and said goodbye to the best boy in the world. We were fortunate to be able to say our goodbyes in the peace and comfort of our own home. So while Boogie is no longer of this spinning rock, his soul and spirit will live with me forever.

Tell us about Boogie: Back in 2010 I had moved back home to live with my Mom and stepdad to save some money to make my long anticipated move to Chicago. My first morning at home, my Mom had been outside feeding the stray ferals who gathered at her house for their morning meal. She noticed there was a small little kitten who was all by himself and not really able to safely join the others for the feast. He looked scared and hungry, so my Mom picked him up and realized he wasn't nearly as feral as the others. She decided to give him to me as a "Welcome Home" present and within seconds, this little kitten was my new best friend. After a day or so of considering a couple of names, I landed on Boogie as the name for this sweet, sassy, handsome little guy. He was named after former Kentucky Wildcat (and future NBA player) Demarcus Cousins whose nickname was Boogie. It just seemed to fit his personality perfectly. He was a Boogie until the very end, and I'm so grateful I got to share so much time and so many treats with him.