05/20/2018 to 04/23/2025
I am grateful for every moment I got to spend with Nico. He was with me through every major relationship, every move, all of the best and worst times of my life. He loved to cuddle, climb, play, and do mischief. He was the friendliest, bravest, sweetest boy. He loved and wanted to know every person or creature he came across. I once brought him to visit my dad who has a pit bull. Nico was safe in his cage, but the dog was snarling at him viciously. The dog clearly saw Nico as a snack and not a friend, but there was no fear in Nico. He gently sniffed the air, as close to the dog as his cage allowed.
Nico was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy less than a year after I adopted him; I was told he was prone to sudden death and wouldn’t live long. For a time I lived in constant anxiety over him, but I am especially grateful that he lived another 5 years without any symptoms – long enough that I hadn’t thought about his condition in years. In life, and in death, his heart was oversized – too big for this world.