Dear Team Boots,

Please do not be alarmed to be getting this unexpected update. You just got one, I know, and unplanned updates can be unnerving. But this is the very best kind of update to be getting: our dear Boots has been adopted!

Those of us who know Boots well always had a hard time believing that he hadn’t been adopted yet. What a magnificent cat he is (and I’m sure many of us secretly wished we could be the one to take him home). Our darling boy’s dearest love, however, is not a new love. Like us, she has held Boots in her heart for a long time, just waiting for the right time to make her home his. It’s a sweet story.

Mrs. Boots (as we’ll call her) came to visit Tabby’s Place over a year ago and knew Boots was special from the moment he first claimed her lap. She couldn’t offer him a home at the time, but he was never far from her thoughts. Finally, the time was right, and Boots is now settling in to his forever home with her as I write.

As soon as I heard the news, I stopped in to see Boots for a farewell lap session. He was happy to oblige, which is no surprise, and he shared head bonks and purrs as is his wont.

I left covered in Boots fur and choking back tears. I am so thrilled for him…and I am going to miss him terribly. He has one lucky mama, doesn’t he? And she knows just how lucky she is, too, which makes it even better.

Boots has never been short on friends, or on words, and naturally, he has a message he’d like to pass along to you, Boots Rosenberg’s Favorite People. From Thoreau’s poem “Friendship”:

And each may other help, and service do,
Drawing Love’s bands more tight,
Service he ne’er shall rue
While one and one make two,
And two are one;

In such case only doth man fully prove
Fully as man can do,
What power there is in Love
His inmost soul to move
Resistlessly.Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side,
Withstand the winter’s storm,
And spite of wind and tide,
Grow up the meadow’s pride,
For both are strong

Above they barely touch, but undermined
Down to their deepest source,
Admiring you shall find
Their roots are intertwined
Insep’rably.

You loved and supported our sweet boy for all these years, waiting for just this moment… If you find yourself singing a holiday song that somehow becomes an ode to delicious fish, or reciting a poem about putting a beatdown on another cat, or maybe considering the awesome gift of friendship, well, it’s our feisty boy’s voice you hear. He’s left his mark on each of us – and we are all the better for it. And now he gets to revel in the forever love of his Very Best Person. How wonderful. Thank you, friends.

Since Boots has been adopted, we have transferred your monthly sponsorship to another Special Needs cat in need of your support. Boots has passed the baton of your sponsorship to another very-longtime resident of Tabby’s Place: Max. You can meet Max here, and you can catch up on his past adventures here. Unless we hear otherwise from you, you will receive updates on Max each month going forward.

However, you may also do one of the following:

• Choose to have your sponsorship transferred to support another Special Needs cat of your choice.
  You can see all of our Special Needs cats here.
  If you wish to do this, please contact us by email and let us know your wishes.
• You may choose to discontinue your monthly sponsorship. To do so, please contact us at 908-237-5300 with your request.

We do hope that you decide to continue supporting our cats in need. And, whatever you do, thank you for your generosity to Boots.