When we bring animal companions into our lives, it’s so incredibly rewarding. There are few joys more pure in life than the love we receive from our pets. However, there’s a painful reality behind this. No living creature lives forever and most of us will outlive our pets. Because of this, it’s important to cherish every single moment with them, just as we do with the human beings we love.
This is something that a lady named Erin Merryn knows very well. She adopted a ginger kitten named Bailey about 15 years ago and when he leaped into her arms, he refused to ever let go. Erin fell in love with him immediately and even sneaked him into her 8th-floor dorm room when she was in college. Erin firmly believes that Bailey wasn’t just an ordinary cat. She also believes that if every person had a Bailey in their lives, the world would be a lot less lonely. In her opinion, there was a tiny human alive inside of her beloved Bailey.
A decade after bringing Bailey into her college dorm room, Erin had started her own little family and had a little girl named Abby. In the beginning, she was unsure how Bailey would react to a human child, but there was never any cause for concern. For Bailey, seeing the tiny human was love at first sight. He stayed by her side, guarding her and snuggling her. He showered Abby with love every single day.
One day, Abby picked up a book and started to read it aloud to Bailey. The sweet boy just stayed right there and gave her his full attention. This became how these two bonded. A couple of years later, another baby girl came along, but Abby remained his one true love. She loved reading to him and singing to him.
Another thing the little girls loved to do was dress Bailey up and care for him like he was a baby. This cat let these children bathe him and push him around in a stroller like he was a human child. As a cat owner myself, I can say that Bailey was certainly no ordinary cat! Bailey went viral when a video was posted to his Instagram account that showed Abby singing “You Are My Sunshine” to him. They went on The Ellen Show and other news outlets.
Unfortunately, Bailey passed away at the grand old age of 14 from kidney failure. Erin said it was one of the worst days of her life, but the hardest part was telling Abby that her beloved kitty was dying. The last thing Abby did with Bailey was sing “You Are My Sunshine” to him one last time. He died three hours later, in the arms of the little girl who loved him with her whole heart. Later, they ever wrote a book about Bailey’s incredible life here on this earth. It has more than a thousand 5-star reviews on Amazon.
It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. That goes for our beloved animal companions, too. Bailey was loved and gave so much love in return. Watch this sweet video below.
Thank you, Bailey.
