Archie – the cat with the loudest purr, softest tummy and biggest heart
On Sunday 21st February 2021 our beautiful one year old cat, Archie, was hit by a car and died outside of our house. He and his brother, George, were a present from Father Christmas for our five year old daughter the year before last. Everyone who knows our daughter and indeed anyone who has ever met our daughter knows about her cats! Within a few seconds of being in her company she will immediately inform you all about George and Archie; their respective personalities and the adventures they have got up to together! He was the most sweet and gentle creature imaginable.
The person who killed Archie may not have known that they had hit him and we accept that possibility. However, it was at 11.15am on a bright morning and I think it highly improbable that the person responsible did not know what they had done. I say to that person: you are coward to leave an animal to die in the middle of the road. I hope that you wrestled with your conscience in the days and weeks that followed. We know that it serves no good purpose to dwell on heartless behaviour; so instead we want to say thank you to all the neighbours and passers-by who helped to comfort him, to stop the traffic, to call the vets, to locate us and to help us to carry him to our drive so that we could be with him at the very end. We know the neighbours who kindly helped, but we do not know the many strangers who did so much. We will be forever grateful for the love and kindness you showed towards Archie.
Archie – you were the cat with the loudest purr, the softest tummy and the biggest heart. The world is all the poorer without you in it. You deserved so much more.
Archie 16.08.19-21.02.21
From, F, D, E and G.
Where is he?
To look at him, he look like me,
To see him sleep so still.
To lower my tingling wet nostrils,
To inhale the scent of me.
But what?
He do not smell like me?
He always smell like me.
To check,
To check again,
To sniff the unfamiliar odour.
To lick,
My pink coarse brush on his coat to wake him.
To lick,
To lick again.
No movement.
To watch the small noisy one put a silent yellow flower on his chest.
No movement.
No movement.
By Fleur Carter – for Archie and George
