In Loving Memory

(photo: December 2009)

Mr. Puffy

1/17/1993-1/22/2010

It is with great sorrow that I let you know that Mr Puffy passed away last week. Steve has written the following tribute to Mr Puffy's memory that we have shared with family and friends and I am sharing with you.

Dear family and friends,

As you know, Mr. Puffy was on chemotherapy treatment as a result of his bladder cancer. His struggle ended last Thursday.

Puffy had a long and happy life until the very end. He was a source of joy to everyone he met.

There is much about Puffy that many of you don’t know.

Puffy was a rescue dog. He was unhappy in his early life and ran away from his first family in Indiana on a regular basis. He was shot by a farmer and had hundreds of pieces of buckshot in his body. Shortly after that we adopted him. We never knew about his injury until he had an x-ray that lit up with little luminescent areas from his head to his tail. We then called his first family and found out the whole story.

Puffy had an incredibly kind heart. Shortly after we got him he escaped from our housekeeper while we were at work. She chased after him, running through the woods until it became apparent that she couldn’t catch him (Puffy was fast). Out of desperation she lay down on the ground and started crying. Puffy heard her, stopped, came running back to her and licked her face. He was worried that she hurt herself.

Puffy had fans all over the world. As you know, he and Claudia shared a knitting blog and thousands of people enjoyed following his adventures and looking at the knitting. In just the single week from 1/21/2010 – 1/26/2010 he had multiple readers from the following countries visit his blog:

Brazil, Denmark, Poland, Netherlands, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lithuania, Latvia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Turkey, Australia, Spain, Canada, Ukraine, Taiwan, Estonia, Kazan – Russian Federation, Slovakia, Nizhniy Novgorod – Russian Federation, Portugal, Italy, Finland, France, Norway, Kenya, Germany, Krasnodar – Russian Federation, England, India, Hungary, Romania, Moscow –Russian Federation, Romania, Iceland, Bosnia, Herzegovnia, Switzerland, Ireland, Indonesia, Croatia, Uruguay, and of course the United States.

He was also honored by the Orange County Register with a story and photos about two weeks before he died.

Sample quotes from his fans:

1/24/2010 from Katherine: Mr. Puffy is a hero in our house! We are praying that our Jack Russell Terrier Macy will get along as well for as long as he has! Go Puffy!

1/20/2010 from Michelle (Northernstar28): Hooray for Mr. Puffy! Man about town. Ever so newsworthy and ready to put a bright spot in everyone’s day. Thanks for sharing the story and recipe. Worldwide humanity rules.

1/11/2010 from Amanda: Mr. P. is looking happy and that makes everyone happy.

He got similar comments on a regular basis.

Puffy and Claudia enjoyed an English Tea every day from 1-2pm. Puffy waited for his little biscuits, enjoyed them and then lay down next to Claudia and watched BBC programs.

As Puffy’s veterinary office said, Puffy was a sweet, sweet boy who was loved by everyone he met. He is missed very much.

Steve and Claudia

Claudia's Postscript:

This blog was a journey that Mr Puffy and I began together and, at least for a time, I shall continue on in his honor. I think in my heart I'll always know what Mr Puffy would want to say.