This week, we lost a legend.
The world knew her as Grumpy Cat. Her family knew her as Tardar Sauce. And I knew her as a kind, patient acquaintance, who, in her own way, changed my life.
As the Pets Editor at PEOPLE, I am fortunate enough to meet amazing animals as part of my job, but back in 2013 I was just getting started in my journalism career and my celebrity experience, animals or otherwise, was limited to seeing Gary Busey outside a Sbarro once.
So when I was assigned to cover a Friskies event, where Grumpy Cat, then just 1 year old, was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, it became a life highlight before it even happened. I, a self-identifying cat lady since 5, was going to meet the Internet’s meme marvel, the one entity all of Reddit could agree was good. It was hard for me to believe something so beloved and precious was even real, let alone open to sharing the same space with me.
Meeting my hero did not disappoint. Grumpy was physically smaller than I imagined, but her personality was grander. After having a childhood spent chasing cat under couches, it was surprising to find that Grumpy was accepting of all strangers. She let me hold her, pose for photos, pet the adorable bit of fluff on the bridge of her nose. It was true: she was known for her hard face, but this cat was one big softy.
It was such an emotionally rewarding experience, it made me realize that working with animals is, for me, more fulfilling than working with people.
After meeting Grumpy, I welcomed opportunities to write about animals and started to actively seek them out. Eventually, this passion led me to my position now. As PEOPLE’s Pets Editor, I was able to meet Grumpy Cat three more times. And each of those meetings reinforced why I adore writing about pets.
Grumpy Cat was always patient, allowing groups of kids to sing her an out-of-tune “Happy Birthday” between cuddles. She always brought out the best in others — obviously touched by Grumpy’s overwhelmingly calm and cute demeanor, everyone I saw around her was unapologetically joyful. And Grumpy Cat always gave a great interview, especially for a cat that didn’t speaking a human language.
It’s sad that I will never see her again, but I find it comforting to know that we had seven years to unite around a little cat that pretended to be bad, so we could all have a bit of good.
Source: Read Full Article