Sweet Barney

[Catty1]

I don't think Barney was scared once he was wrapped in his blankie and on his meowmie's lap. Was he also in the blanket on the ferry? He was very bonded to you, and if you were there he felt ok. He might have found the rough sea trip tiring, which is maybe why he was 'limp' at the vet's. Don't second guess yourself.

Lara, I wonder...if you do get to speak to the woman who was the girlfriend of that young man who died in that dirt bike accident, and if he DID have a fluffy black and white cat - well, that would have to be Barney? She might even have a couple of pictures of him from when he was a bit younger.

Today, January 11 - the COTD is named Barney.

HUGS to you, Lara. And hugs to Scott.

[Medusa]

I don't think Barney was scared once he was wrapped in his blankie and on his meowmie's lap. Was he also in the blanket on the ferry? He was very bonded to you, and if you were there he felt ok. He might have found the rough sea trip tiring, which is maybe why he was 'limp' at the vet's. Don't second guess yourself.

I agree w/this, Lara. Because our furkids can't speak for themselves, we imagine all sorts of things. Go easy on yourself, kiddo. You were wonderful w/Barney from the get-go until the end.

[AbbyMom]

RIP little Barney. You were well loved. It may have been a short time that you had this love, but you had a lot of it when you found it. Play hard at the bridge.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Good bye Barney....It was so wonderful getting to know you.

[jazzcat]

From another heart touched, Rest in Peace sweet Barney.

[Kirsten]

R.I.P. little Barney! You fought such a hard fight, and now you will be young and whole again at the Bridge.

Lara, I'm very sorry about your loss. You did so much for him!

Kirsten

[Shady]

I have not posted here in several years, but I do read.

This courageous little man has touched my heart to the core. I've followed the threads from the very beginning, the tears have flown freely at all the ups and downs and the compassion from his saviour Lara.

If anyone on this earth was blessed it was this little waif, who stole all of our hearts and is forever planted in our souls, our beings who was cared for by the best possible person who appeared to have been chosen somehow.

I know how hard it was to follow through with his care and his journey to the bridge, I have been there myself, and was just as affected by this tiny boy. Lara's courage and strength saved this boy and saw him through to the end of his journey on this earth.

Godspeed Barney and be reborn to live a beautiful existence at the bridge forever, and bless you Lara and Scott for stepping up for this baby and giving him love, affection and the best care possible.

Tess

[Scooter's Mom]

I have avoided this thread because I am so terrible with words. I have little to say that hasn't been said already. It's just amazing how this little scrap of a kitty touched so many lives all across the world. Not just a city or a state or even a country, but the world over. Thank you, Barney, for being a part of our lives for even a little bit. For reminding us what courage is.

We will all miss you and remember you forever.

[weluvcats]

I know how easy it is to slip into that..."I should have done this, I shouldn't have done that, why did I do this, why didn't I do that??" All of us who have made the "decision" have probably gone through this, but please don't beat yourself up over anything that you did for sweet Barney. You did the absolute best you could for him. Think about the shape he was in when you first saw him...and now think about all the love and tender care that you gave him in the nearly three months that you had him. That precious little kitty received more love and kindness from you in those final months than he may ever have had...Who knows what his earlier life was like before he was with you.

The difficulties with the trip to the vet couldn't have been helped. They were circumstances beyond your control. Taking Barney out of the carrier and holding him on your lap was the right and best thing you could do. As long as you were with him, he was as content as he could be in that situation. You did your best, and rest assured that he does know that now. You gave Barney love, kindness, care and compassion...I wish every lost little animal soul was as lucky as Barney was in those last months.

I think your idea to paint a picture of Barney is wonderful. And your reference to Aslan from Narnia is perfect. If you do go ahead with this, please post it. I'm sure we would all like to see it. Another memorial for sweet Barney.

Lara, please don't reproach yourself for anything that you did for Barney. We all here at PT have said before that you (and Scott) were Barney's angels...Those weren't just words. We meant them, and they couldn't be more true...

Judy

[ramanth]

RIP Barney.

[MoonandBean]

I wasn't on PT this weekend but I was thinking of Barney and Lara A LOT on Friday and over the weekend. RIP Sweet Barney. I will have to go check out the COTD from the 11th as Candace pointed out...his name is Barney Coincidence? We think not

[Emeraldgreen]

...It's so easy to get caught up in life's garbage and to get hardened and cynical about so many things, but strangely enough, one sweet, sick, lonely and bedraggled little cat ended up bringing so many together on his behalf. I am so grateful to have found PT and the wonderful, compassionate, and caring people here. What an extraordinary community of people you all are!

And thank you again Lara, for making this experience possible by sharing your precious Barney and his story with us.
Judy

I'm very thankful too.
I was so happy to share him.

Culturejunky wrote:

I hope you had a safe trip to the bridge Barney, there will be so many Pet Talk angels waiting to greet you, say hi to Jack for me, you will now be transported back to how you were in your prime, beautiful fur, bright eyes, puffy tail....have fun there, there will be many that want to see you again one day

I wish I could see how he looks now in his prime! I've been trying to find a picture of a petite long haired tuxie that resembles him but it's hard to come by! That little froggy face was one in a million I think.

Catty1 wrote:

I don't think Barney was scared once he was wrapped in his blankie and on his meowmie's lap. Was he also in the blanket on the ferry? He was very bonded to you, and if you were there he felt ok. He might have found the rough sea trip tiring, which is maybe why he was 'limp' at the vet's. Don't second guess yourself.
Lara, I wonder...if you do get to speak to the woman who was the girlfriend of that young man who died in that dirt bike accident, and if he DID have a fluffy black and white cat - well, that would have to be Barney? She might even have a couple of pictures of him from when he was a bit younger.
Today, January 11 - the COTD is named Barney.
HUGS to you, Lara. And hugs to Scott.

Yes, once I wrapped him up in the blanket, (kind of like an open ended burrito) at the end of my driveway, he stayed like that for the entire trip. During the ferry ride he perked up his ears a couple of times when people walked past my vehicle as we were parked right by the stairwell. He seemed frightened by them so I pulled the blanket up around his ears so he was snug as a bug and then he cozied in.
I do think the bobbing of the ship made him feel a bit strange. It's not normally like that and was just really rough that day. I felt kind of sick myself. So, that may have been why he was kind of out of it when we got to the clinic. He was 100% limp when Robin unwrapped the blankets and laid on his side. If he hadn't been breathing, I would have thought he had already passed. It was very strange. He never recovered from that because just a few minutes later he received the sedative.
I did pray really hard while we were driving and asked God to please remove all fear from Barney and maybe that prayer was answered and he was in a kind of meditative state.

I did see that handsome cat Barney who was COTD. A very beautiful boy! I thought that was a neat coincedance.

Medusa wrote:

I agree w/this, Lara. Because our furkids can't speak for themselves, we imagine all sorts of things. Go easy on yourself, kiddo. You were wonderful w/Barney from the get-go until the end.

Thanks Mary. I feel a bit better each day about it all.

Abbymom wrote:

RIP little Barney. You were well loved. It may have been a short time that you had this love, but you had a lot of it when you found it. Play hard at the bridge.

And by so many! I hope he knows that now without a doubt! Thank you.

Edwina's Secretary wrote:

Good bye Barney....It was so wonderful getting to know you.

Thank you.

Jazzcat wrote:

From another heart touched, Rest in Peace sweet Barney

Thank you.

Kirsten wrote:

R.I.P. little Barney! You fought such a hard fight, and now you will be young and whole again at the Bridge.

Lara, I'm very sorry about your loss. You did so much for him!

Kirsten

He really was a fighter. I've never met such a cat before. I do hope he is a young man again and living a brand new life at the Bridge.
Thanks Kirsten.

Shady wrote:

I have not posted here in several years, but I do read.

This courageous little man has touched my heart to the core. I've followed the threads from the very beginning, the tears have flown freely at all the ups and downs and the compassion from his saviour Lara.

If anyone on this earth was blessed it was this little waif, who stole all of our hearts and is forever planted in our souls, our beings who was cared for by the best possible person who appeared to have been chosen somehow.

I know how hard it was to follow through with his care and his journey to the bridge, I have been there myself, and was just as affected by this tiny boy. Lara's courage and strength saved this boy and saw him through to the end of his journey on this earth.

Godspeed Barney and be reborn to live a beautiful existence at the bridge forever, and bless you Lara and Scott for stepping up for this baby and giving him love, affection and the best care possible.

Tess

Thank you so much for taking the time to post that Tess. I really appreciate your words and I'm so thankful that he touched your heart as he did mine. Bless you too.

Scooter's mom wrote:

I have avoided this thread because I am so terrible with words. I have little to say that hasn't been said already. It's just amazing how this little scrap of a kitty touched so many lives all across the world. Not just a city or a state or even a country, but the world over. Thank you, Barney, for being a part of our lives for even a little bit. For reminding us what courage is.
We will all miss you and remember you forever.

I think those words were GREAT! He really was just ' a little scrap of a kitty' wasn't he. That never really changed much, even with the pound he gained. I guess he was more about quality than quantity with regard to his size and his time here on earth. Thank you.

weluvcats wrote:

...I think your idea to paint a picture of Barney is wonderful. And your reference to Aslan from Narnia is perfect. If you do go ahead with this, please post it. I'm sure we would all like to see it. Another memorial for sweet Barney.

Lara, please don't reproach yourself for anything that you did for Barney. We all here at PT have said before that you (and Scott) were Barney's angels...Those weren't just words. We meant them, and they couldn't be more true.

Thanks! I will post a pic of the painting. I haven't started it yet though.
I should do it now, while his memory is so fresh in my mind.

Ramanth wrote:

RIP Barney.

Thank you.

Moonandbean wrote:

I wasn't on PT this weekend but I was thinking of Barney and Lara A LOT on Friday and over the weekend. RIP Sweet Barney. I will have to go check out the COTD from the 11th as Candace pointed out...his name is Barney Coincidence? We think not

Thanks Deb. I appreciate your thoughts over the weekend. I'm so relieved it's all over. The lead up to it was the hardest part. I miss him so much though but know that this will get easier with time. I've been avoiding the room he slept in because it's kind of depressing to go in there. Thankfully, we have another bathroom!


quick update on the Feral Group inspired by Barney:
Well, the meeting was yesterday at 1:00 and I advertised it in a number of places. I was told by a few people on the island not to expect too many to show up and that if 6 showed, that was a good turn out. I taped up an 11x17 photo of Barney on the wall and set up coffee, tea and cookies and a bunch of chairs and people started arriving. The first to arrive was the vet who I had emailed a few times who is building a house here. She is a very nice person and I was so glad she and her husband came.
More and more people showed up until almost 30 people were there!!
But by 1:05, the president of the feral group from a nearby town who I had invited to speak and field questions had not arrived.
I just started the meeting and winged it. I was fairly nervous but just kept going and it all kind of worked out. I told them about Barney and apologized that the speaker hadn't shown up and told them about what I hoped we as as group might accomplish if we put our strengths together.
About 20 minutes into it a woman in her 20's spoke up and said she had experience with TNR in North Carolina and was against the feeding of ferals and wanted to know who was doing the surgeries, what were we going to do with the cats afterward and explained that the actual trapping was the easy part. She was fairly combative and I quickly let her know that this meeting wasn't about having people just show up to assume different positions of volunteering with all of the issues already worked out but was just the beginning of the beginning. I told her and the group that I had hoped a group like this would already exist in our area but it didn't seem that anyone was willing to take the initiative to start one up and that was what I was doing. I told her that the group would over time, find the vets to work with us, find the different skills that each of us could offer to make the group successful etc.. etc.. She really frustrated me because it was as if she was trying to cause a problem.
Thankfully though, an hour into the meeting, a woman who had indicated a few times that she wanted to speak, finally got her chance between everyone speaking out. I am so thankful that she finally spoke. As it turns out, she has extensive experience in TNR and supported the idea of feeding ferals and was full of amazing ideas and energy.
So, it looks like this will come together and we planned to meet every few weeks. I'm excited about it.
But my hope to name it after Barney will probably not see the light of day. I'm sure I could force the issue but I really want everyone that was there to be on board with it and I could tell that the name will have to be something more neutral.
People were getting really frustrated with each other when they would take up time to tell personal stories of cats in need. One woman in particular spoke out half a dozen times and each time it was to tell a story about a cat and wasn't really about TNR and what we needed to focus on. I didn't have the heart to tell her that but a man sitting next to me named Chris freaked out and yelled at her. He said "Sue!!! Tell your &^%$%$# stories AFTER the meeting. We ALL have stories but this meeting is only 2 hours long!!!" We all sat silently in shock for a second and then I started up again. lol
I felt bad for Sue but she seemed okay with it.
My speaker and her partner in the group never did show. I got home and there was a message saying that they were both sick and they were very apologetic. They said they'd like to come to the next meeting though. They'd better come dressed in hockey gear though, this crowd is tough!! Yikes!

[phesina]

God bless you, Lara.. starting this Feral Group inspired by Barney. Just think of all the other cats Barney will wind up helping!

[weluvcats]

Lara...Boy it sounds like you may have your hands full with this crowd! Unfortunately, when you involve yourself in trying to start a group about a cause (you name the cause), sometimes you end up attracting people who have their own agendas and issues. I've been down that road with a couple of groups/organizations that I've been associated with or started myself, over the years. But, don't let that deter you...You're doing a very noble thing which is well worth the effort.

The important thing is that you had a GREAT turnout!!! I am sorry your speakers were a no-show, but, it sounds to me that you did just fine...Hopefully, they'll be able to make the next one. In the meantime, you got the ball rolling, and often, that's the hardest part. It would be great if the name for the group refers to Barney in some way, since he was the inspiration behind this, but I understand that that decision may not end up as entirely yours.

So far my friend, I think you are off to a promising start. Keep your chin up, and just follow this road where it goes. It is a very worthy cause, and you are doing a wonderful thing. Hang in there, and let us here at PT know if there is anything that we can do to help.

Judy

[emily_the_spoiled]

Barney you are now at the RB with all of our loved ones that have gone before you. You had an effect on people that was greater than you could possibly know. We all loved you and followed your trials and tribulations and joys. But more importantly your legacy will be to have a group of people to help others that are in position (before you found Angela and Laura). That is the true meaning of an angel...RIP