I was only ten years old when I got Boreaguard Nolan Amadeus Tinch. Our neighbor was going to move to his wife’s father’s house. Her father had an old cat that would have killed the small kitten. I will never forget the day that my Nana and Papaw said I could have the kitten.

Bo stayed outside for the first few weeks I owned him. Then Nana said I could let him into the kitchen, but ONLY in the kitchen. Eventually, Bo was allowed anywhere in the house (except for the attic and the storage room).

Bo was a pretty fat cat. He was born chubby, but he ate a lot. He had a lovely dark gray fur, with la little white patch on his belly and an ever smaller patch on his chest. In the winter, Bo would grow what my Nana called a “mane”. He had a lot of fur around his head and his chest when he grew his winter coat.

There was also some thing very special about Bo. He had a half-tail, about five inches long. He was also very smart. When he'd want something to eat, he'd go to the refrigerator door and meow. He would also rear up to the kitchen door and try to “open” it! It was so cute!

As Bo grew, so did my love for him. Bo was my very first mammal pet (I'd bought a fish, but he died a little while after I got Bo). He had his own email address and small webpage. I drew portraits of Bo, wrote his name everywhere, and even put his name on a popular graffiti spot in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

See, we couldn't afford to get Bo fixed, and he stayed outside a lot. He'd go “dating” a few times a month. He'd also get into fights with local strays. We had a very large groundhog in our backyard, too, and it had little ground hogs.

On Monday, April fourteenth, 2003, I had had a crummy day at school. When my Daddy came to pick me up, I asked him how Bo was. He said he hadn't seen him. When I got home, I looked under the bushes Bo like to sleep under on hot days. Daddy told me to get my old shoes (the dirty ones I don't wear in public) on. I though that he'd though I wanted to go outside. I told him didn't want to, but quickly changed my mind because it was good weather out. As I got another pair of socks, my Nana said that they needed to tell me something. I nagged at them to tell me. They finally said that the groundhogs killed Bo.

I was almost hysterical. When I was done sobbing, Daddy took me out to look at Boreaguard's body while he dug a grave. I went over near the groundhog hole. There he was. Bo was just lying there. It looked like he was sleeping, which was one of this favorite things to do. I told him that I loved him very much and that the Lord would take care of him.

Daddy was done with the grave. He put Bo into a trash bag and buried him. I got to write on his tombstone. This is what it said:

Boreaguard Tinch

2001 – 2003

Our Little Bo

We love you

I put an unopened can of his favorite cat food on top of his grave, and one of his little dangly toys behind his tombstone. When it was done, Daddy and I just stepped back and looked at it. The late afternoon sun shined down on Bo's grave. My Daddy said that’s how he could tell that Bo went to Heaven.

Later that night, before I went to bed, I imagined Bo flying up to Heaven and meeting other cats. I missed him so much. However, there was something that confused me until about three weeks before writing this. I knew the day would come that Bo would die, but I didn't imagine it'd be this bad. Then I found out why I cried about it. One soul cannot touch another one without leaving a mark. Bo had left a very big mark. He was a humongous part of my life. I finally got to the point that I didn't sob about Bo every time I thought about him.

I got another cat. His name is Sparkplug and he's about five months old at the time of writing this. I'm thirteen years old.

I'm not trying to replace Bo, I never would try. Bo will always have a place in my heart forever. The thing is not to dwell on it. Life does go on, and just because it does, doesn't mean you have to forget about things.

Before Bo died, I made up a short raps song for him. Here are the lyrics:

Hey, Yo, Wassup?
Hey, Bo, Wassup?
Bo licks his butt, and he cannot lie,
He stretches his legs sky high,
He licks his butt
And then his nuts
(Loud scream)!

In Loving Memory of Boreaguard
2001 - 2003

Copyright © Scott Tinch
July 20, 2003