? - very early, 7-29-09
Topaz passed away last night. :'( I knew it was going to happen soon, even though I was really hoping it wouldn't. I had a feeling the other month, before anything seemed to even be going wrong. Then there was the dream the night before last, and then last night I couldn't sleep.........
The past couple of months had been hard on him, his body just didn't seem to be functioning that well anymore. His meals weren't always digesting properly (so I switched him to organic baby food for awhile), his beard would get pitch black on occasion, he, hadn't shed for awhile, and the other week I think he drank too much water and then puked it up. He may have gotten some in his lungs, that didn't dry up- despite the warmth of his terrarium and getting a good amount of sun. He's been gradually getting more lethargic this year, too.
I talked with a girl at Feed and Seed for awhile, did quite a bit of research, and spent a lot of time with the guy trying to help him out... and it just seems that he was getting old and there wasn't too much we could do. (Other than pamper him and try and help him get through this tough time with ease.) We think he was about 11 years old, and the average beardie lives to about 10. He didn't have the most active life before being with me, often kept in his terrarium, away from the yipping dog and frightened children. When he crawaltzed into my apartment, that all changed, though.
We had so many great times together, and so did so many other creatures he met. I'll remember the good times, hanging out outside, eating fruit at the farmers market, running to all the girls in my house and ignoring the boys, cuddling (especially after we hadn't seen each other for awhile and he would nuzzle up to me), him attacking the glow poi, "Ahh! Keep the monster away from me!!!", watching movies and playing music to him (he really seemed to like both of those, he'd watch!), photoshoots (he really seemed to love modeling..... I'm not even kidding. He'd cock his head and look right at the camera! What a natural..), the time he ran through the pizza sauce and splattered it everywhere, how he'd eat baby food and then run off- with a messy face- once he was done... often times running through the food itself and leaving a trail of goo, the stalking of crickets (any crickets living in my home are relieved), the superhero dragon game, and of course, my introduction to him. Linda put him on the ground and he seemed like he was trying to bite her toes. "Oh dear, what am I getting myself into?" I thought..... Only to find out he was the most gentle creature I had met. There are so many other great memories, the list goes on and on.............
Little verde, Topedo, Budzilla, Topaz, you will be very missed. Thanks for blessing me with your presence for three lovely years.

We will have a memorial soon.... probably on Friday.
[[......I wish I had time to edit this entry, but I'm working, so I don't. Despite the obvious run-on sentence, there is probably some other poor grammar, but ohh well. Maybe later.......]]