I don’t usually post personal stories on my blog, but I wanted to memorialize a special someone.

Our sweet Blackberry passed away unexpectedly this week. We don’t know what happened. Maybe he was much older than we’d thought; maybe there was something wrong with his heart.

All we know for sure is that he died in his sleep, in his favorite chair, all stretched out, which means he was warm and comfortable.

The whole family is devastated. We didn’t adopt Blackberry (more commonly known as Blackie) so much as he adopted us. There’s no telling where he came from. He just appeared one day, out of the blue, and decided to stick around.

I feel so lucky to have had that time with him, even though it’s painful to realize that I have to go on without him. He was a big, soft, sweet, beautiful boy who chose us to be his family.

There never was a more magical witch’s familiar.

Sleep easy, Blackie. I’ll love you forever.