Tag Archives: saying goodbye

Sympathy Cards for a Lost Pet

It feels like I’ve been signing a lot of sympathy cards at the cats-only boarding facility lately. As much as I hate to think about it, our pets just don’t live as long as we’d like them to. It’s a sad coincidence that we’ve had several guests pass away in relatively quick succession. Sometimes, I don’t know what to say. I do my best to find something to love about each and every cat that comes through our doors. When I’m writing out the card, I try to remember some special moment I shared with the pet — some fond … Continue reading →

From the Mouths of Babes: Why Pets Have Such Short Lives

I’m a big fan of the James Herriot books and stories. You may be most familiar with All Creatures Great and Small — the book, the film, or the series. Herriot referred to them as his “little cat and dog stories”, but they are much more than that. They are glimpses into lives — Herriot’s own, and the lives of his clients and their owners. My favorite story has to be the one about why pets have such short lives. It goes a little something like this: a family needed to have their dog put to sleep. The dog, at … Continue reading →

Diary of a Cat Care B&B: the Worst Part of the Job

It feels like this year has been a rough one for some of our favorite clients at the cats-only boarding facility. Some of our long-time visitors succumbed to chronic health issues or old age. It feels like we’ve been sending a lot of condolence cards. I don’t like it. Not one bit. We said goodbye to another dear friend this week — you may remember him as the biggest cat I’d ever seen. When he first came in to board for a weekend, he tipped the scale at almost thirty-four pounds. On his latest visit, he was down to almost … Continue reading →

Is It Appropriate for an Ex to Attend Their Ex’s Funeral?

Yesterday I wrote about how my dad planned to attend my mom’s funeral. (Or, rather, I think the more appropriate term is memorial service since she wasn’t buried or otherwise interred anywhere after.) I had mentioned it to a neighbor and they expressed surprise. “Is that appropriate? I mean, they had divorced. Does he really have any right to go?” Same Reaction When Wayne’s mom showed up to his dad’s viewing I felt the same way. “Wow. She’s got some cojones.” I remember feeling both appalled and furious that she had the nerve to show her face. I mean, not … Continue reading →

My Dad Wants to Attend My Mom’s Funeral

This afternoon my sister is going to hold a memorial service for my mom at the church she used to attend. My dad has informed me he plans on going. Which is fine. I told him he could be my personal representative because I won’t be there. (Yes, sadly, the rifts that started between my sister and I when my mom first got sick have only gotten bigger. Now I’m not on speaking terms with her.) I was only joking about the personal representative thing, but my dad did sort of feel he needed an excuse. For a variety of … Continue reading →

Tough Decisions: Watch the Euthanasia or Not?

April always brings to mind Budly because he was born during this month and died during it too. (Born April 21; Died April 23) Among the many memories I have him, the one that is guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes and which still haunts my heart is his very last moments. The ones right before he was euthanized. We were given the option to be in the room, or to wait outside until it was done and then come in to say our final goodbyes. Wayne and I didn’t even need a moment to discuss it. We wanted … Continue reading →

Looking Forward: Moose

I was driving home from work yesterday, thinking about my mother’s dog Shashi and how she suffered from hip dysplasia. And that got me looking ahead and wondering how long it will be before I’ll have to make a very difficult decision regarding Moose. My imagination went to work, and I started to cry, thinking about what I would feed him for his last meal and what the people at the veterinarian’s office will say and do. I finally understand the people who were jealous after Miko passed away in his sleep. I started attending a pet bereavement group run … Continue reading →

Looking Backward: Shashi

When I was a very little girl, my mother still had her German shepherd dog, Shashi. At least… that’s what we all called her. Her official name was Wildwoods Scheherazade, and she was a purebred, papered, pedigreed shepherd my mom had bought after she graduated college. When my mom was getting ready to get married and move out, my great-grandmother refused to let Shashi leave — so the dog stayed with my grandmother and great-grandmother. Shashi was a beautiful all-black shepherd. We have all sorts of funny family stories about her. She was so scared of thunder and lightning that … Continue reading →

Diary of a Cat Care B&B: Saying Goodbye

It’s barely been a month since I started working at the cats only boarding facility. Even in that short span of time, we’ve had some repeat visitors. I’m getting to know the names and faces of the families and felines who are frequent guests. There are cats who leave that I know I’ll be seeing again. It’s a good feeling. I like the sense of community — the familiar faces, the stories from past visits, and more. We’ve had a few cats with us for several weeks, and I’m definitely going to miss them when they go home. One of … Continue reading →

The House Rule

Did you ever see a movie called “My Dog Skip”? I rented this one a few years ago and without giving too much of the plot away, was in tears at the end. In fact, I was still crying when I went to the video store to return the movie! Afterwards, I came up with a new house rule: pets are not allowed to die. Yes, I know this is a rule that’s going to get broken. But a girl can hope. The rule came up again today when a friend of mine had a bit of a scare. Her … Continue reading →