You will be assured of endless hoursof fascination and entertainmentas you both grow together inunderstanding the human and potbelly relationship. Words cannotdescribe this relationship and itcan only be fully understood byexperiencing it.
Arnold didnt know he wasa pig-he thought he was justanother member of our family-modeling his behavior throughobserving me， my wife， my twodaughters and our beagles. He wasconvinced he was loved by all； andhe was， even when he was ornerytrying to just get our attention. Helearned his name， how to sit andhow to use the little box all in thefirst week we had him (at 7 weeksold！).
He loved to sleep on your lapas you sat on the couch watchingTV. He didnt care if he grew toweigh 45lbs， he still expectedyou to hoist him onto your lap atprecisely 8：00 pm every eveningwhere he would fall fast asleepwithin seconds after snuggling hiswet nose between your neck andshoulder. If you didnt respond tohis initial “honks” letting you knowit was his nap time， he would bumpyour legs with his nose until youpicked him up. With his weightas it was， you couldnt hold himall evening as he preferred， so youhad to slide him off onto the couchnext to you where he would sleepfor hours with all four legs and hisnose sticking straight up in the air.
He would snore as long as he couldfeel you next to him but wouldimmediately wake up if you triedto leave the couch. We had hoursof fun balancing objects like a saltshaker on his flat nose while heslept soundly.
Arnold helped me in all mychores around our five acres in thecountry. Just being there at myfeet， interested in what I was doingmade even the most mundanetasks enjoyable. When he wasout roaming and foraging andyou would call out his name， hewould come running at top speed，honking the whole way until hegot close to you where he woulddodge you， zigzagging around witha few victory roles turning in circlesbefore settling down and calmlywalking up to you with his tailwagging as if to say (winking) “hah，got-cha.”
He even helped me build a kitaircraft and a customized trailer to haulit around in. I was planning on takinghim flying with me some day. He lovedto play with my sockets and rolledthem around on the shop floor. Just as Iwould struggle and get frustrated withsome difficult task， Arnold would showup underneath the trailer， with his wetnose in my ear and honking-seeming tosay， “take a break and laugh with me fora while， that should make it all better.”
And it did， every time. Gods marvelouscreations minister to us in the mostspecial ways if we can just stop for a fewmoments and observe them. God usedArnold to teach us this very importantlesson in life which we will never forget.
My wife and two daughters beganto say that Arnold and I were so closethat he had become the son that Inever had in our family. It seemed thatwe could no longer have any kind ofconversation in our family or with ourfriends without Arnold being a maintopic. The neighborhood kids wouldmake appointments to come visitArnold and couldnt wait to come overand play with him.
Arnold went most everywherewith us-Pets Mart， Wal-Mart，birthday parties， Christmas vacationto Grandmas. He loved riding in thecar or shopping basket and was a bighit everywhere he went. Arnold hadbecome such an important part of ourlife that when we found out that ourfamily would have to move to anotherstate， we insisted that the contract onour new house be contingent on thehomeowners association approval ofArnold in writing before we wouldagree to purchase in our prestigiousneighborhood.
On the day we left our old hometown， we had a going away lunch withour friends from church. Everyone therejust had to go out to the truck whereArnold and all our other pets wereand say goodbye. Arnold trusted meto take care of him and get him to hisnew home. Tragically， along the way，the wind blast from a semi knockedour trailers out of control and pushedour truck off a 40-inch-high bridge.
We lost a big part of our family thatday when our pets Arnold， Sweeti andLeanna were killed. I feel terrible for notbeing able to protect Arnold the way hetrusted me to. However， I will be forevergrateful for the fond memories of himwhich I will cherish forever.
一只猫的生命哲学
这个男人非常伤心，他知道这只猫时日无多了。医生说，已经无能为力了。他只好把猫带回家，尽可能让它舒适地度过最后的时光。
男人把猫放在腿上，不住地叹息。猫睁开眼睛，喉咙里发出咕噜咕噜的声音，看着这个男人。从男人的脸颊上滚落下来一滴泪，滴在猫的额头上。猫有些恼怒地看了他一眼。
“你为什么哭呢，伙计？”猫问道，“是因为你无法承受失去我的痛苦吗？或者你认为我是无可取代的？”男人点点头：“是的。”
“那你觉得，我离开你后会怎么样呢？”
猫问道。男人无助地耸耸肩。“闭上眼睛吧，伙计。”猫说。这个男人疑惑地看了它一眼，还是照做了。
“我的眼睛和皮毛是什么颜色？”猫问。
“你的眼睛是金黄色，皮毛浓厚，是温暖的褐色。”男人回答。
“那你见我经常待在什么地方？” 猫问。“我经常见你……待在厨房的窗台上看鸟儿……在我最喜欢的椅子上……在我桌子上，躺在我需要用的文件上……整晚都待着我的枕头上，靠近我的脑袋。”“那么，不管你什么时候想见我，只要闭上眼睛就可以了。”猫说。
“捡起地板上的那根绳子吧——那儿，我的玩具。”男人睁开眼睛，伸出手，捡起绳子。它的长度大约是两尺（约0.6米），猫能够跟它玩好几个小时。“现在用两只手分别捏住绳子的两端。”猫说。男人照做了。
“你左手的那端就象征着我的出生，右手那段象征着我的死亡，现在把两端连在一起。”猫说，男人同样照做了。
“你有了一个连续的圆圈，你看，绳子上的任意一点和其他点有什么不同吗？会比其他点更好，或者更差吗？”猫问。男人审视了一番，摇摇头说：“没有。”
“再把你的眼睛闭上吧。现在，请舔舔你的手。”猫说。男人惊讶得睁大了眼睛。
“照做吧，舔舔你的手，想象我还待在所有熟悉的地方，想想绳子上的所有点。”猫说。
虽然觉得有些傻，男人还是照做了，然后他发现了猫知道的秘密：舔舔手能让人平静下来，让思考更加理智。他继续舔手，嘴角慢慢浮现出一抹微笑，这么多天来这是难得一见的微笑。他等待着猫叫他停下来，可是没有，当他再次睁开眼睛，猫已经永远闭上眼睛了。他摸摸温暖的褐色皮毛，猫已经永远离开了。
男人沉重地闭上眼睛，泪流满面。他看见猫蹲在窗台上，又跳上他的床，然后躺在他重要的文件上。他看见猫挨着自己的脑袋躺在枕头上，看见它明亮的金黄色眼睛，深褐色的鼻子和耳朵。他睁开眼睛，透过泪水，看到手里依然捏着的绳圈。
没过多久，一天，他的膝上有了一只新的猫咪，是可爱白色花斑猫，跟他之前深爱的猫咪完全不同，却又是那么相似。
The Zen of Cat
The Man was very sad. He knewthat the Cats days were numbered.
The doctor had said there wasntanything more that could be done，that he should take the Cat home andmake him as comfortable as possible.
The man stroked the Cat onhis lap and sighed. The Cat openedhis eyes， purred and looked up atthe Man. A tear rolled down theMans cheek and landed on the Catsforehead. The Cat gave him a slightlyannoyed look.
“Why do you cry， Man？” TheCat asked. “Because you cant bear the thoughtof losing me？ Because you think you can neverreplace me？” The Man nodded， “yes.”
“And where do you think Ill be when Ileave you？” The Cat asked. The Man shruggedhelplessly. “Close your eyes， Man，” the Cat said.
The Man gave him a questioning look， but didas he was told.