CiCi Murphy

CiCi Murphy, age 16, passed away November 13, 2012 at 10:45 a.m. CiCi was born in Crane Hill, Alabama, September 16, 1996 as a miniature poodle. When adopted at 6 weeks he changed his lifestyle & quickly became human. CiCi is survived by his parents, Bobby & Becky Murphy of Birmingham. CiCi was a loving & devoted son who brought a lifetime of love & happiness to his parents. He is greatly missed and will be forever in our hearts. --Until one has loved an animal part of their soul remains unawakened. --Please God, Make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am. --Authors Unknown In his early years one of CiCi’s favorite past-times was “hand fighting” with Daddy. They would roll & tumble, CiCi “fighting” Dad’s hand, both of them laughing & having fun until Dad tired out. CiCi was an excellent Frisbee player, chasing & catching the Frisbee for what seemed long periods of time. When Mommy made him rest, he would beg (barking) to continue Frisbee until Mommy threw it again. CiCi would leap high into the air, twist & turn for a dead-on catch every time. He also loved to catch the tennis ball and was an accurate catcher. He loved to play ball of any kind, played with other toys, fetching, catching, chasing & squeaking the toys. One of his favorite routines was to play until he was tired, then run to the bird pond outside & jump in, soaking his entire body. Christmas was a favorite time for CiCi. He loved opening his presents, ripping the paper with his teeth to get to the toy. He loved to get lots of toys. The louder the sound of the toy, the better he liked it. CiCi loved walks in the woods & around the neighborhood. As a young lad on walks he mystified his parents by eating dandelion seed heads as though they were a delicacy. He continued this behavior throughout his life. He had an uncanny knack for finding balls on his walks. Baseballs, hidden in brush, were his first finds, although he had never played with one. He was so good at finding balls that Mom & Dad labeled his talent “smelling round”, meaning he could smell the shape. CiCi was a brilliant little son. He trained Mom & Dad to have family time each morning. This became known as “lap love” time. CiCi trained Mom first after she retired. Each morning he would stop at the corner of her chair & look up at her, waiting. It took Mom a little time to catch on but she quickly learned he wanted her to sit & hold him. CiCi then trained Dad to sit, too. After getting Mom in her chair, he would pace back & forth from Mom to wherever Dad was in the house until Dad came into the room & sat down, too. CiCi would then jump in Mom’s lap & rest peacefully while Mom & Dad drank coffee. “Lap Love” time became a daily routine. CiCi never let us forget that special morning time together. CiCi always greeted Mom or Dad when they came home, barking welcoming words & jumping for excitement. CiCi made sure they had a good night’s rest by sleeping between them every night, alternating his snuggles. CiCi & Mommy were especially close. In his later years when Mommy stayed late at Granny’s, CiCi would sit in his window & cry for Mommy. The sounds he made crying were so pitiful & so apparent he was missing Mommy. Daddy would phone Mommy & let her listen to baby crying for her. CiCi was a good son but he never met a dog he liked. CiCi didn’t like many humans either, other than Mom & Dad. He loved Miss Rosie & greeted her the same way he did Mom & Dad. On occasion he would spontaneously jump in Granny’s lap & allow her hold him. He would also play with Uncle Paul. CiCi loved when company came to visit but didn’t want them to get too close. Life will never be the same for Mommy & Dad without CiCi. We were so blessed to have him. A private service was held November 15, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at Family Pet Cremation, Birmingham. The service consisted of hands on viewing & loving goodbye words, a short Bible verse and a prayer of thanks to God for CiCi’s life. Mom carried CiCi & placed him in the box for cremation. Mom & Dad returned to the viewing parlor, watching the cremation begin & listened to the song “Precious Memories” by Bill & Gloria Gaither. A recording of CiCi barking was played, followed by the song “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton. We appreciate the individualized service of Family Pet Cremation. The service & artifacts they provided were first class. The professionalism, flexibility and environment they provided us in our final act of saying goodbye to CiCi gave us much comfort & closure. We would like to thank everyone at Center Point Animal Clinic for the excellent medical care they provided CiCi throughout his entire life. A special thanks to Diane & David who were with CiCi from his first day through his last. Special thanks also to Dr. Gilbert who cared for CiCi in his later years enabling him better quality & longer life. A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam And for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies on again, And though we wish it could have stayed, We feel so lucky to have seen it. --Author Unknown CiCi, Pooh, Gypsy, Freeway & Flaveo, we love you forever & look forward to seeing you again when we meet at Rainbow Bridge.