Sunday, July 25, 2010

Another pet loss...




My dear sweet Hope was put to sleep Thursday. After battling with Feline Stomatitis and recently being diagnosed with Diabetes, I decided it was best to let her go. It was a tough choice considering she was still mentally aware of her surroundings and purring like a kitten every time someone even looked at her, but Hope had become very lethargic and her body was completely shutting down due the years of steroid injections that kept her comfortable. She lived a good life for 10 years.

I couldn't sleep Wednesday night because I kept wondering "what should I do?", "should I put her down?", "can we fix this?". I realized at 5 am that the right thing to do was to end her suffering. She was not the same cat anymore. On my way to work Thursday morning I saw a complete rainbow!!! That was my sign that I was doing the right thing and Hope would be crossing the "Rainbow bridge" that day.

There were 3 of us in the room, Dr. Casi and Jessica joined me. They had grown to love her, who wouldn't??? They had tears as big as mine as I held Hope in my arms (still purring) and Casi injected the medicine into her veins. I felt a calm feeling as she died and I knew that Hope was telling me that it was ok let her go. It was the strangest but most reassuring feeling I had ever had! Definately God's hand!!!!

Deciding to be there with her during the euthanasia was the hardest thing I've ever done but I feel we owe it to our pets for them not to be alone during that final breath. They love us with all their hearts and all they have is us. We have the entire world and its "worldly things." Take my advice and support your pet on their final journey when its their time.