On behalf of the staff at Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital, we are honored to pay respect to our beloved animal friends who have passed.  We also welcome you to create a lasting tribute for your beloved pet or animal friend on our website's Pet Memorial page. Please feel free to complete the following Pet Memorial Form in Adobe Acrobat format, which requires the free Acrobat Reader to view.

Download & Print Questionnaire

Lord God, We thank you for giving us our pets who are our friends and who
give us so much joy in life. We cherish the pets we have now, and we remember the pets we have loved and lost. May we always be reminded of the joy they have given to us.

“Aristotle”

June 21, 1995 – January 11, 2011

I got Aristotle from a cat rescue center in Stevensville, Maryland in June of 1995 for an anniversary present for my wife, Brenda.  She had lost a cat a few years before and I felt it was time for her to have a cat again.  My wife raised this little kitten to be a very loving and intelligent cat.  He LOVED being outdoors.  In fact we could not keep him indoors so we made him an inside/outside cat.  She taught him phrases such as “your daddy is coming home” and he would run outside to wait for me in our driveway.  Also he would be waiting for us in our driveway when he heard our car return.  We put a bell outside so when we rang it, he would come running from wherever he was back to the house in just a couple of minutes!  He would always look both ways before crossing the street (seriously).  If I walked over to see my neighbor, Aristotle would follow me and bring me back home!

Aristotle greatly enriched our lives and he was always entertaining.  He NEVER scratched the furniture and he never tried to claw anyone and he had his claws all his life.  He was trained to be gentle and he loved company.  He loved taking naps with Brenda.  She would say “do you want a nap?” and he would head straight for bed.  She would say “do you want your hair brushed” and he would run and jump on the ottoman and wait for Brenda to brush him which he loved.

Aristotle loved to hunt.  One time he brought back a rat (live of course) to our house and let it go inside.  Brenda went berserk and yelled at Aristotle to “put that outside!” (he knew what “outside” meant).  He promptly looked for the rat and picked it up and took it back outdoors!  He was also very popular with all the cats in our neighborhood.  For a long time he was very jealous and would not allow them to come to his yard to visit though until we told him it was ok to bring over his cat buddies!  As all his friends got older we had sort of a cat senior center in our backyard.  Aristotle also taught us a couple of things.  He would refuse to go outside until he knew there was food waiting for him in his food bowl in the house.  He always checked it before he left even if he was not hungry!  He could communicate with us very effectively and he knew how to cheer up Brenda.  There is just not enough room to tell about all the things he knew and could do.  More importantly, his undying love for us also.

Aristotle lived life to the fullest.  More so than most of us, I imagine.  He was the most intelligent and loving creature I have ever been with.  God made him just for us and we are grateful for the 15+ years that we had together with him.