Jeff- The above photos of your cat freaked me out a litle. I have a 17-year-old tortoise shell cat named Louie, who looks ALOT like Scooter. I've been dreading losing Louie for awhile now, as she's getting to be pretty old. Needless to say, I can relate to your loss, as well as your wish to dedicate an instrument to Scooter.
By the way, I also want to ask you a question about Dire Wolf. Are you completely happy with the sound and feel of the B string with a 32 scale? I'm thinking about a shorter-scale Alembic 5-string myself...
Happy New Year to all!