Ernie Banks

Name: Ernest Banks Ward (Ernie Banks)

Date of Passing: 08/22/2023

Message to Ernie: Farewell to our sweet kitty Ernest Banks Ward, ~2007-8/22/23. Ernie came to us in January 2015, the same week the legendary Mr. Cub passed away, hence his name. He was sassy and sometimes even a little bratty, but also a huge cuddler and champion biscuit maker. I will miss how he used to jump up in the morning and gently tap my face with his paw when I was not timely enough about getting out of bed to serve breakfast (if the face tap was unsuccessful, his next move was to nip at the flabby part of my upper arm—that one always got me moving). He absolutely loved to watch TV, especially “cartoon time” every morning with Joe—he liked Tom and Jerry the best. He also enjoyed “tail playing time” with Huckleberry…every morning after breakfast for about 10 minutes, they would both sit under the table together, Huckleberry would whap his tail around, and Ernie would chase it.

Tell us about Ernie: We received a very aggressive cancer diagnosis in early June, so this was not unexpected, but it doesn’t make the loss any easier. Huge thanks to the surgical and oncology teams at Medvet Chicago: Dr. Jackson, Dr. Byrum, and vet tech extraordinaire, Jessica, who helped us through these last few difficult months, and to A Gentle Goodbye, who assisted with the last 24 hours. Hug your pets while you have them, everyone.