Valentine Bandit

In early August 2012, on a gorgeous Sunday morning, I went to Courtney and Eddie's Wedding Shower
Sean and Lucy spent the day together

I came home with cupcakes for Sean and Lucy

They came home with a 4.9 year old, black, short hair domestic called Ziggy

From the moment Ziggy entered our home, it was as if he had always been there
And it was not long before he and Lucy became, well, Lucy and Ziggy

Lucy follows Ziggy around
Ziggy follows Lucy around

They read together, sleep together, watch TV together and eat breakfast together

He hops up on the sink, she turns the water on for him

He sticks his face in her cereal bowl, she moves the spoon so he can get at the milk

He stands in front of the pantry door begging for a treat, she says lovingly uh uh uh Ziggy! No treats! You know what the Vet said! 
She keeps this up until she thinks I'm not watching then slips him a treat and makes him promise not to tell
We walk in the front door, he's there to greet us as she is calling out to him to let him know we're home

Lucy worries about Ziggy when we're away and misses him terribly 
She misses him so much she'll often request we cut our trip short so we can get home to him 
We don't but its the thought that counts

Lucy and Zigs even fight

She scolds him, he meows right back at her

He drags one of her toys around the house in his mouth, she snatches it back and tells hims to play with his own toys

She pets him a little longer than he wants to be, he gives her a swat

He's swatted, swiped and hissed at her 
She's swatted, swiped and yelled right back

He's even scratched her a couple times
And when that happens, her bottom lip quivers, and she fights back tears as I know her little heart is breaking 
Then she'll demand we take him back to the kitty farm we got him from

So I agree and start to gather up Ziggy's things 

She reminds me not to forget his favorite toy 
So I scoop up that favorite toy (no Mumma, not that one! The other one!), announce to Ziggy he's leaving and promise Lucy as soon as Daddy gets home, he'll take Ziggy back
Which makes her cry harder

Ziggy hears Lucy crying and comes over settling down next to her 

She's still crying so he moves closer to her, leaning against her leg

She ignores him

He pushes against her again

She still ignores him and says I'm really mad at you Ziggy!
He stands up, leans against her rubbing his head and meows

She finally gives in, buries her head in his neck and says I forgive you Ziggy Boy but you really hurt my feelings!

He nuzzles her again with a big meow and and she accepts his apology

And they go back to being Lucy Goose and Ziggy Boy

Once, Ziggy had to have a biopsy done 
He had to be put to sleep of course and a section of his back was shaved and he had stitches 
When Ziggy came home, he had to wear the cone of shame for a few days

Lucy was beside herself when she saw him 
And when he tried to eat and could not, she nearly lost her shit
She had tears in her eyes and her voice cracked as she sat on the floor feeding him kibbles one by one and muttering words of comfort and love to him
I am not sure what squeezed my heart more that day: the thought of something being wrong

with Ziggy, how much Lucy loved this kitty or what a great big sister she would/should have been

Ziggy has acquired a a multitude of nick names over the past few years:

Ziggy Boy 
Ziggy Boy Sykes if he's really in trouble
Fatty Boom Boom 
Count Chub-u-la
Panther 
Sir Barfs-a-lot
Zigs 
Count Zig-u-la
Ziggy Bo-Biggy
Zigmund Zigaby 
Chubby Chubster

Sometimes Lucy will holler Where's my Best Kitty Boy? and he'll come running or lumber down the stairs to see what she wants

Or if he's being fickle on a given day, she'll ruffle his head and say Whose my Grumpy Cat?!? in a funny sing-songy voice to try and cheer him up

Lucy loves and adores this cat 
And this cat loves and adores her right back

On Valentine's Day, as dinner was cooking, we exchanged Valentine's with each other

Cards for Daddy from Mummy and Lucy and a heart full of Kit Kat's, Twix and mini M&Ms

Cards for Mummy from Lucy and Daddy with a heart full of Hershey Kisses with hazelnuts and sweet tarts

Cards for Lucy from Mummy and Daddy, a stuffed cat, a heart full of Kit Kat's,
some Skittles and M&MsA card for Ziggy from Lucy along with two new toys

We sifted through the mail and pulled out a few more cards to be opened

The last one was a card addressed to Lucy Sykes, no return address, post marked Boston, MA

We did not recognize the handwriting

She ripped it open and screeched with delight when she realized it was a card from none other than Ziggy!

She waved it in front of Ziggy (because yes, he was sitting on the chair next to her) and squeezed him in thanks and in love

Sean and I looked at each other and exchanged, in silence, through head shakes, furrowed
brows, shoulder shrugging, hands turned upward and finger pointing,

Not me was it you?
Nope, not me!
Then who?
I have no idea!
What the hell?
Beats me!

Lucy continued to hug Ziggy who got all the credit for her favorite Valentine of the day

We don't know who did it

We honestly have no idea

Not because we can't think of who would do such a thing

The opposite actually

We can think of so many who would in fact do such a thing because those are the kinds of people we are lucky enough to be surrounded by
I posted this on Facebook hoping to find the person - or at least in our message of gratitude reaching him or her
I hope it did as you deserve a heartfelt thanks

So if it was you, if you are the Ziggy Valentine Bandit, thank you
Thank you with our whole hearts and heaps of gratitude and love

Your gesture, such a sweet simple gesture, brought a huge smile and giggle to Lucy's face 
And after the week she's had, it was just what she needed

Also, it earned Ziggy a treat 
(Mumma! I think Ziggy should get an extra treat for being so thoughtful and sending me card!) 
So I'm pretty sure he's even more grateful to you than she is

You made Goose's Day - and you made ours, you truly did

I hope you continue to brighten the world each day with gestures like this......I'll be sure to pay it forward!