Grayson & Lu
Member Since 2012
Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy – Eskimo legend
The stars shone a little brighter last night, as my little Hope moved on to her next life. …a life free of discomfort, meds, and weakened immune systems.
I met Hope December 14th of last year; she was probably about 5 months old. Surrendered by her previous owner, she became a foster w/ the local humane society. Due to neglect, she had a terrible eye ulcer, and was scheduled to have her eye surgically removed the following day. Instead, I volunteered to take her to a veterinary ophthalmologist who had treated several of my cats for the same condition, and made the arrangements. Two days later, Hope went for treatment and by noon was back at my house for her follow-up care. She was already looking and feeling better. Her treatment consisted of several weeks of eye drops – as many as 15/day. Because the eye had been an immediate concern, they hadn’t run the usual tests on her when she came into the foster program. When they did, her leukemia test came back positive. Given that the number of healthy animals needing homes is so great, the organization’s policy is to PTS those w/ FIV or Leukemia. I was heartbroken. Anyone who had held this little girl felt her love embrace them, and heard purrs that could make your heart skip a beat. She was coming home with me to stay.
There were a couple of flare-ups with her eye, but she continued to thrive in her new home. By last week, she was up to 6 pounds! (a far cry from my 20 pounders!). However, these past few days, her appetite waned, and she was breathing heavy. I took her in yesterday to get checked out, thinking it would probably turn out to be a hairball or blockage. Unfortunately, the x-rays showed fluid in her abdomen and lungs, and she experienced respiratory distress as they tried to get the second view, having to have oxygen. It was not looking good, and between her stress level and her compromised immune system, I was given some options. The tech, who’s been a friend for 20+ years, had had a cat with a similar condition. She moved mountains for her, and prolonged her life 3 weeks. But it was a difficult time for the kitty.
So late yesterday afternoon, I made the hardest decision we have to make, to free her from her weakened body. Fly free, sweet ray of Hope! I love you.
Some favorite thoughts:
Imagine the beauty of it – that moment when the soul of a loved one returns to the stars, the voices each whispering, I remember you.
We can’t know why the lily has so brief a time to bloom in the warmth of sunlight’s kiss upon its face, before it folds its fragrance in and bids the world good-night to rest is beauty in a gentler place. …But we can know that nothing that is loved is ever lost, and no one who has ever touched a heart can really pass away, because some beauty lingers on in each memory of which they’ve been a part. – Ellen Brenneman
The stars shone a little brighter last night, as my little Hope moved on to her next life. …a life free of discomfort, meds, and weakened immune systems.
I met Hope December 14th of last year; she was probably about 5 months old. Surrendered by her previous owner, she became a foster w/ the local humane society. Due to neglect, she had a terrible eye ulcer, and was scheduled to have her eye surgically removed the following day. Instead, I volunteered to take her to a veterinary ophthalmologist who had treated several of my cats for the same condition, and made the arrangements. Two days later, Hope went for treatment and by noon was back at my house for her follow-up care. She was already looking and feeling better. Her treatment consisted of several weeks of eye drops – as many as 15/day. Because the eye had been an immediate concern, they hadn’t run the usual tests on her when she came into the foster program. When they did, her leukemia test came back positive. Given that the number of healthy animals needing homes is so great, the organization’s policy is to PTS those w/ FIV or Leukemia. I was heartbroken. Anyone who had held this little girl felt her love embrace them, and heard purrs that could make your heart skip a beat. She was coming home with me to stay.
There were a couple of flare-ups with her eye, but she continued to thrive in her new home. By last week, she was up to 6 pounds! (a far cry from my 20 pounders!). However, these past few days, her appetite waned, and she was breathing heavy. I took her in yesterday to get checked out, thinking it would probably turn out to be a hairball or blockage. Unfortunately, the x-rays showed fluid in her abdomen and lungs, and she experienced respiratory distress as they tried to get the second view, having to have oxygen. It was not looking good, and between her stress level and her compromised immune system, I was given some options. The tech, who’s been a friend for 20+ years, had had a cat with a similar condition. She moved mountains for her, and prolonged her life 3 weeks. But it was a difficult time for the kitty.
So late yesterday afternoon, I made the hardest decision we have to make, to free her from her weakened body. Fly free, sweet ray of Hope! I love you.
Some favorite thoughts:
Imagine the beauty of it – that moment when the soul of a loved one returns to the stars, the voices each whispering, I remember you.
We can’t know why the lily has so brief a time to bloom in the warmth of sunlight’s kiss upon its face, before it folds its fragrance in and bids the world good-night to rest is beauty in a gentler place. …But we can know that nothing that is loved is ever lost, and no one who has ever touched a heart can really pass away, because some beauty lingers on in each memory of which they’ve been a part. – Ellen Brenneman
