As we all know, Phred was a gifted writer and a true animal lover, but he was much more than that... he was helpful, compassionate, organized and had an eye for the details. Whenever one of us had a problem, either with our animals or how to get to a place, he would do the research and get the answers.

When I joined PT, Phred’s “gibberish” posts were some of the first I came across. It took some time before I learned to decifer what he was talking about, but after a little while, I couldn’t get enough of his “tails”. He really had a briliant sense of humor!

At the time when Phred was an assistant moderator, I PM’ed him with questions about the technical stuff on PT (I had never been a member of any Forum before). I did it to not pester Karen and Paul with silly questons, but mostly because I wanted to get to know Phred better - and it worked. I have countless PM’s and e-mails from him, which I treassure.

His cat Boots was blocked up back in 2002 and had an operation, Phred was really worried and he did everything possible to get Boots better. Boots lived until 2007, I believe. Still, he had time to worry about Fister and offer lots of advice, since he had similar problems at the time. The vast information he gave us was very helpful.

One time, I had a question about whether my fire distinquiser was too old, and Phred, of course, was the one I turned to, he knew all the answers.

I will always remember the support Phred gave me after John had passed away, he was there for me all the way - along with other PTalkers. That gave me strengh to move on.

Sending the firetruck and four firemen to Gini's BBQ in 2005 was really something else - only Phred could have pulled that one off!

Phred, John and I were sometimes talking about age (John liked to know the age of the people he was addressing) and in a typical Phred manner, he said this: “I used to fear that middle aged label! Now my worry is How Long can I get away with USING it!” LOL!

I would have loved to meet Phred in person, John and I even talked about attending one of the Findlay gettogethers, but that never happened. I spoke to him on the phone a few times - he had such a nice voice. I could have listened to him forever!

One thing Phred used to say was, that he was a “thread killer”. How could he say such a thing! His posts were the most popular on PT - he did prefer a thread to keep going, rather than postig new ones all the time.

Phred, we have all had such good laughs - and cries too, you kept us up late and made me burn the dinner, because I just had to read the latest post of yours on PT. You were one of a kind! Your compassion, love for animals and sense of humor shone through each of your posts.

I believe you and John have met by now and are sitting there in the sunshine, giving out treats to all of our departed fur babies - and enjoying a cold beer.

Rest in Peace, dear Phred - you were loved and respected more than you could imagine and I will miss you so much!