Tommy Franco-Hesdorff

Our beloved cat Tommy passed away on August 13, 2009. He left our lives almost as quickly as he arrived. Roland found him wandering around at his work in 2006; he had been playing under the cars in the employee parking area for a week; had to be rescued out of a tree by a co-worker; and Roland was afraid he was going to get run over eventually. It seemed he was a stray; no one else was going to come to his aid; so Roland called me at home to ask if we wanted another cat? I instantly said “No, we don’t need another cat”. We had just lost our Snowshoe Siamese to old age the year before and already had a 7 year old Siamese, a Dachshund, a Beagle and a Schipperke. Needless to say, later that evening Roland came home with a less than a year old dirty white and orange kitten, which came to be known as Tommy.

With the love of animals that was bestowed upon me by my animal loving Mother, I, without hesitation took him to the bathroom, clipped his nails and gave him the biggest bath of his life. He wasn’t happy, but from that point on he knew who the boss was. Or so I liked to think I was the boss; he had a temper, and was not the type of cat that liked being handled too much; he would always let you know when he’d had had enough holding; but we bonded and he never tried to bite me. Roland liked to pick him up and hold him until Tommy would meow “put me down Daddy, I’m not that kind of cat”.

Much to our dismay he learned, by watching the girls (Tippi, Lilly, and CoCo), how to use their doggie door. I was concerned by this, but it was his irrepressible personality and nature to want his freedom to wander the cul-de-sac where we live. He came and went as he pleased and was never out for more than a few hours – he knew where home was. We soon got use to him bringing home gifts; such as crickets and Geckos, but, I didn’t much care for the garden snakes he would drag in. He would let us know what gifts he brought home with his proud “Cooing” sound. I soon realized as when I heard his “coo”, it was time to look for his gift.

Earlier this year we decided to get another kitten. We adopted a Ragdoll and named her Samantha. I was worried that Tommy was going to be upset by his new little sister, but pleasantly that was not the case. He took to her like his own little kitten, he loved her. They would play for hours before Tommy went outside to get gifts or wander the cul-de-sac. Samantha loved it when she saw her big brother Tommy come in from outside. The last couple of days poor little Samantha can’t realize why he hasn’t come home. I see her looking up every time she hears the doggie door open or close. I am sure his memory will soon fade from her and she will be okay.

Another one of his favorite things to do outside was to go in the front yard and survey the property for any intruders. We live on a corner double lot and he would walk up and down the yard making sure we were all safe. He would often tease me when getting the newspaper in the morning, by jumping out at me from behind the hedges or hanging off the roof from above. He often would sit watch in the yard at night making sure everything was all right.

The early morning of August 13th our loyal Tommy lost his life to coyotes, in the front yard he loved most. I am sure he was protecting us from the evil that he saw invading the yard. He will forever be our Guardian Angel protecting us and his home.

Tommy is survived by his parents Ron Hesdorff and Roland Franco; brother, Tyler and sisters; Tippi, Lilly, CoCo and Samantha.

Funeral Home:
All Paws Great and Small Crematory
5611 E. Houston St.
San Antonio, TX
US 78220