Ally

We recently had a loss in the small Lehman family. One of our cats, Ally, passed away on July 19th. She was going to turn six next month, which makes the loss so much more unexpected and heartbreaking than usual. Ally's kidneys gave way on her and although we did everything we could for her there was little we could do in the end.

Ally's personality was one of the most unique I have ever seen in a cat. Mary and I always joked about how she acted more like a dog or a person than a cat. She would actually play fetch with milk-ties and would beg for food in the kitchen, sometimes to the point of annoyance, whenever I would open the refrigerator. Her paw would find itself in your cereal bowl pulling it to her, if you weren't careful, and she loved licking the remnants of an ice-cream sandwich wrapper. She was the only one of our cats that we allowed to go outside, although it was sparingly and always under my supervision. She would just roll on the ground and chomp the grass and just lie low like she was in the jungle. She loved watching birds from the window and terrorizing the other cats simply with her stare. It was amazing the dominance that this small cat could command without throwing a simple blow. She allied herself more with me than Mary, which is why I think it is hitting me so hard.

Although most of you have met Ally through your visits with us in the past, I wanted to write this blog for those of you who never got a chance to meet her. Mary and I truly put our animals on equal footing with any other family member and Ally will always be missed. Hopefully this commemoration will do her justice. Take care Ally. Hopefully you will have all the ham and grass that you wish for.



This is a cute picture of Ally from August of 2008.




Ally a month after Mary found her in a mall parking lot.






This is one of my favorite Ally pictures. We always joke about how it looks like she is praying.

This picture was taken around April of this year. Ally and I were enjoying the outside while I was cooking.