When I was three years old, my parents had to get rid of my puppy. She was too rambunctious for a house with a three year old, and she chewed up everything. So they contacted a woman interested in a puppy. I was devastated that I was losing my precious doggy. But, that same night, my mom came home late from work, with something very special: a kitten.
He was this little black kitten, who was about eight weeks old, and I instantly fell madly in love with him. I named him Bullseye, after the horse in Toy Story 2. He was loud, and crazy. And when my baby brother was born, he was my best friend. With a new baby in the house, I was not getting as much attention as I thought I should be from my mom and dad. But Bullseye gave me all the attention I needed. He slept with my in my bedroom every night.
He was with me through my family's move three hours away from my hometown when I was 8. It was my job to feed him and clean his litter box, and in return, he was my cuddle bug. He slept with me every night. He sat on my lap while I read the Harry Potter books for the first time.
In July 2010, my family packed up a Penske truck and moved 2,000 miles from Southern California, to Muncie, Indiana. A four day trip that took me further and further from everything I had ever known. And that whole move, Bullseye sat on my lap in the front seat of that big Penske truck.
The move was hard on me. I felt really detached from where we were, since I didn't know anyone. But I did have my one connection to home. I had my cat. I had my baby. The cat that had been with me for almost 9 years at this point. On my first day at my new school, I came home and was greeted by Bullseye howling at me that he wanted food and love.
Throughout my middle school years, I had some battles with depression because I was still attempting to cope with living across the country from my home. But through all that, Bullseye was there. When I had my first boyfriend, and I went on my first date, he was there when I came home. He also was there when I laid in bed crying because my first boyfriend broke my heart.
He was there when I met my fiance, and he loved my fiance. Around my sophomore year of high school, Bullseye started slowing down. He was 11 after all. He started moving around less and just laying around more. He started losing teeth, shortly after we got a new kitten. The vet said him losing teeth was just from the stress of the new kitten.
But then, sadly, in October of 2014, my junior year of high school, Bullseye got very sick. He couldn't even stand, he just laid behind our couch, howling at us. We picked him up and when he tried to walk, he took a few steps, and then stopped, almost as if to rest. My whole family was worried sick, and we tried our hardest to take care of him and love him.
Two days later, on October 18, we woke up for school and tried to feed Bullseye, since he hadn't eaten much. He ignored the food, and collapsed on the kitchen floor, struggling to breathe. My mom and I started crying, and called my dad at work and asked him to come home, so we could take Bullseye to the vet to be put to sleep.
I lost my best friend that day. Even though I knew animals couldn't live forever, in my mind, Bullseye would. I was three years old the day my mom brought him home, and I was 16 the day he was brought home for the last time, to be buried in our backyard.
Many people don't quite understand the heartache that comes with losing a pet, especially one you grew up with. Losing a pet that has been with you through all of the good and bad times, for me it was like losing a piece of who I was. It felt so strange to come home from school in the weeks following his passing and not hear him yowling for me. Losing a pet is losing a piece of your family.
I still have Bullseye's tag on my wallet, and I carry it with me every where I go. I have his paw print tattooed on my outer thigh, because that is where he would often set his paw when he laid on my lap. Bullseye will always be a huge part of who I am and will always be one of the things I remember most about my childhood. When you give a kid a pet, you give them a lifelong best friend.