M&M, 1998-2013

Born, as near as the vet could estimate, May 5, 1998, M&M took her last breath on April 5, 2013. She had been my constant, daily companion for 15 years, except for the few trips I made, one in 2001 when I entrusted her to the care of my nextdoor neighbor and the others when I boarded her at a veterinary clinic. I don't have any pictures of her as a tiny kitten. The day she came into my life, at age 2 weeks, she was 7 inches long, tip of nose to tip of tail, and weighed 7 ounces. Most probably she was the daughter of a feral cat and born in the woods near Kentucky's Rough River. She was found in a paper sack, abandoned in a shed near a resort cabin, and brought to me in a milk crate with a Beanie Baby by the contractor who was repairing my roof after the massive April 16, 1998, hailstorm in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I began photographing her after I got my digital camera in 2002. Below are some highlights from those hundreds of photos. M&M's brave, affectionate, scrappy little heart stopped about noon on Friday, April 5, 2013, as a beloved veterinarian was doing his best to save her life. There is no medicine to repair the hole she has left in my own.