I was planning to write a really upbeat post 
about our final day at the Seattle vet convention until Alayne called from the ranch this morning with awful news. Champagne Bob, our little handicapped cat who had beaten the odds his entire life, died late last night. He had a rare disease called Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VI. Cats typically live no longer than 2 to 3 years maximum with this condition. Champagne Bob was by our reckoning at least 5 years old and perhaps as old as 8 (we never had a definitive age when he arrived). Our vets were always amazed at how well he did and how long he was living past the age when no cat was expected to survive. You can read his original story here.
Alayne said Champagne Bob seemed a bit out of sorts yesterday evening, a little stiff in his legs (bear in mind he couldn’t walk at all, so this refers to his ability to move his legs while lying down), and he didn’t want his dinner at first. He looked straight past the food on his plate, as if he were staring off into space. That was very unusual, because this little guy absolutely LOVED to eat. But he finally did eat later in the evening, and he was moving his legs around, so she figured he was okay. Alayne then went out about 10 p.m. to let the dogs out one last time for the night and close up the barns. When she got back to the house, she found he had just died … he was curled up in a little ball on his bed. He seemed peaceful, and there was no sign of any struggling or thrashing. It was like he had just taken a last breath and slipped away.
He was without a doubt the most disabled animal at the ranch, and he lived a very constrained life in his special crib. Yet there were still two things he loved about life: being petted and being fed. We figured that as long as he had those, he had a good quality of life for a tiny guy who couldn’t walk. He was a survivor, and we’re glad we had the time we did with him.
Goodbye, little friend.
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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