Memorial to a loving feline friend
Dearest Buddy,
It's been three days since you've been gone ... the three longest and saddest days of my life.
I always wondered how I would get along without you. I knew it would be hard, but I never knew how unbearable the pain would be.
I used to think I would never be "one of those" people who wouldn't know how to let go of their pet when the time came.
Well, Buddy, that dreaded day came last Tuesday.
When I thought I was just being a responsible pet owner by taking you to the vet that morning because you weren't eating, I never knew I was going to leave the vet's office without you.
I never knew I would be faced with the hardest decision any pet owner ever faces.
Buddy, you didn't have an easy life. You were born a stray sweet, little jet-black kitty and had to endear yourself to whoever was renting that home two doors down.
Whenever the people who rented that house would move, they would leave you behind and you would hope the next people would love you enough to feed you and give you shelter.
And being the cat that you were - sweet, gentle and respectful - there wasn't a tenant in that rental that had the heart to ignore you.
And the day your "mom" told me that they were moving, my heart sank knowing I would never see you again.
I realized then you had stolen my heart.
I prayed somehow you would be able to stay in my life. So when the day your "mom" knocked on my door and offered you to me, my prayers were answered.
You were the best cat ever Buddy.
I know everyone says that about their cat, but I KNOW you were.
Thank you Buddy for everything you gave me, for all the comfort during the rough patches in my life.
I can't sit in the chair you and I sat in for the past eight years when I watched TV without you in my lap. And I can't sit in the garden where you used to be right under my feet, or have a nice long bath without you at the foot of the tub.
I can't seem to do anything without it somehow being connected to you.
Buddy, I pray I did the right thing in not letting you suffer.
The vet said you weren't eating because you were filled with cancer, so I kept my promise and didn't let you suffer.
I let you go for YOU - not ME, but I will never let you go in my heart.
I loved you so much, and always will.
Good night, Your Mom
This is a tribute to my Buddy whose 14-year life ended sadly last week. I hope anyone who reads it who is considering getting a cat go to the SPCA as they are inundated with kittens and cats who are in need of good, loving homes right now. And if "Buddy's Story" is the catalyst to even one person going to the SPCA to adopt a kitten, then this will be Buddy's greatest gift of all.
