Mad Max: Furry Road
by Edwin Chong, 5/18/2026

We first met Max in June 2015 at a local rescue organization. We think he was about one year old then. He looked pensive, not particularly enthusiastic about the people passing by looking to adopt a suitable pet. He was not very friendly when I first tried to engage him, but he warmed up quickly to our kids, and they really wanted him to keep him. That day Max joined our family.

Max turned out to have the perfect temperament for us. He was warm and loving, skittish at times, aloof at times, but never needy or demanding. Max was small and light, never weighing more than 11 lbs. Because he was so tiny, his name is appropriately associated with Planck. We took many photos of him, but he was not particularly photogenic. He oftened looked like a squinty little old man. Though he loved to go on walks, he disliked his retractable leash, because the handle would scurry straight towards him if dropped.

Each night, Max would sleep next to one of us, sometimes moving among us through the night. I can still feel his warm little body pressed up against my left thigh. It was the only time he would cuddle up to me. 

Max helped me get through several medical challenges, including my amputation. He was happy to see me whenever I got back from the hospital. It was something to look forward to during those unpleasant hospital stays. 

Max had a heart murmur and was under the regular care of a cardiologist. On the
night of May 17, 2026, Max suddenly collapsed to the floor, apparently from congestive heart failure. He had refused to eat his food that entire day and the day before. He was rushed to the emergency room but could not be resusitated. He was about 12 years old.

For a about a month before Max passed away, I was learning to sing and play a popular jazz standard, Stardust. I never fully understood the lyrics. But now I do. 

Goodbye, Max. I love you. Enjoy paradise where roses bloom.

---
Stardust (1927, music by Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics by Mitchell Parish)

And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky, the little stars climb
Always reminding me that were apart.

You wandered down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.

Sometimes I wonder why I spend
The lonely nights dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you.

When our love was new 
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago, and now my consolation
Is in the stardust of a song.

Beside the garden wall
When stars are bright you are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
Of paradise where roses bloom.

Though I dream in vain 
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.