He told me that Ralph was dead.
Smiley had woke up and found Ralph beneath his cat tree, clearly having passed away overnight.
I remember wondering that morning why Ralph wasn't downstairs to greet me as I prepared for work, as had become his custom.
Even in this picture, you can tell he'd lost a lot of weight in the last three months. We were concerned enough to adjust his food to a less diet- conscious brand, but we chalked it up to the stress of joining a chaotic household.
In retrospect, while he did become a resident of the second floor instead of the common areas on the first, he never seemed phased by the noise, or by Sawyer.
I told Smiley to wrap Ralph in a pillowcase and lock him inside one of the dog's cages and to tell the rest of the family. I told him I would leave early to bury him and say goodbye, but that I had to stay at least until early afternoon.
Shortly before 4:00 I came home, dug a hole along the fence line, and gathered Lulu and Junie with me. Yaya had been notified by phone and sent her sympathies and a number of great pictures of Ralph. By this point Smiley said that he had shed his tears and said goodbye and did not want to participate.
We clipped some hair from him, collected his custom engraved brown leather collar that I had ordered for him, placed him in the grave, and said some prayers.
He was not with us long, just like the grandfather that I named him after, and the similarity of him passing in his sleep unexpectedly was mentioned more than once.
He deserved a longer life. We deserved more time with him. But I am confident that his 3 months with us were spent surrounded by happiness and love, and were certainly a better alternative than life in the shelter that I took him from in September.
Rest in peace Ralph. We love you.
