Dedicated to Loved Pets Everywhere!

I found this article today on a website that is dedicated to reviewing movies, but the editor posted a personal blog that broke my heart and made me grateful for every moment I have ever had with a pet in my life...

Finally today... I made reference to personal stuff going on in yesterday's post. What happened was that Sarah and I lost our cat Kirby yesterday after 17 long years together. It's no exaggeration to say that Kirby was probably the best friend I've ever had. He was more like a dog than the typical cat. He was just with me almost constantly - my whole daily routine revolved around him. He sat with me in my office while I worked, he watched thousands of movies with me in the home theatre over the course of his life. In his later years, he slept on my pillow at night and woke me with a gentle lick on the forehead... you know, so I knew he wanted breakfast sooner rather than later. He was just a great pal. I first brought him home after a visit to my family in North Dakota (he was given to me for free by a high school friend) when he was just a few weeks old - small enough to sit in the palm of my hand - and he's been with us through thick and thin ever since. About 4 years ago, he was diagnosed by our vet as being in the early stages of kidney disease, so we figured his number was up. But with a careful diet to keep his weight up, and nightly fluid injections to ease the burden on his kidneys, he thrived. He was happy, playful, his old self. Loving life. Until Monday afternoon that is, when it became clear that he'd finally reached the late stages of the disease. About 5 PM we noticed that he was having trouble seeing, and he was a little wobbly. He wasn't in any pain, just puzzled by the fact that he couldn't see. But Sarah and I knew this was it - the next thing that follows after sight loss is heart failure, and we absolutely didn't want him to suffer that. So we decided to make his last night a blast. His favorite time of the year has always been the holidays, because he LOVED turkey. So I drove around until I found a grocery store that had fresh turkeys, and we cooked it for him. He got excited as the house filled with the smell, and he eagerly devoured a couple plates full when it was done. We sat with him and just spent time with him the whole night. Then yesterday morning, we took him in to the vet, and he agreed it was time to let him go - that we were doing the right thing. So we said our goodbyes and I held him while they have him the injection. And then he was gone - peacefully, happy right to the end. And today, I'm just gutted. I feel like my right arm is missing. It's amazing how these creatures who are so small and ask so little of us, give us SO much back. As bad as I feel today... I have a lot of happy memories. It's worth every minute.

So anyway, over the next few days if these posts are short, and it seems like my heart just isn't it... that's because it's not. I appreciate your patience as Sarah and I try to deal with the loss of a very important member of our family.

Thank you Kirby, for being our best friend for 17 years. We miss you so...