Peter, I'm sorry for your loss...I had to put my cat Spud down a four years ago and it was horrible; she'd been my one constant through relationships, jobs, homes and been from my twenties to my forties, so we had history...I have tons of stories of her fighting the dogs of the 'hood, and many are STILL scared of my house, she never lost, even against pit bulls...Thankfully I now have the lovely Emily who doesn't fight dogs and isn't as smart as Spud was, but she's really funny...she's four and still chases her tail and other silly things; keeps me laughing...
Tony