Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Saying Goodbye



Our house is a bit emptier today as we said goodbye to our sweet, sixteen year old cat, Allie. Allie came into my wife’s life nearly fifteen years ago as a rescue from the Human Society of Ventura County in Ojai, California. She was a sweet, little calico – except that is, when being pilled. I have the scars from my several attempts that led me to declare my wife the official pill popper. But mostly Allie was sweet and lovely, and she loved nothing more than to curl up in her favorite spots, especially the heater in the kitchen and the arm of the sofa. She kept me company many a morning as I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee.

Allie’s last year was a struggle. She developed hyperthyroidism and went from being pleasantly plump to rather skinny and scrawny. She ate constantly, and meowed incessantly to be fed. She received daily meds and went through three cans of wet food a day – about which she was very finicky. Then a few weeks ago, her appetite disappeared, she became rather lethargic, and rapidly lost weight. In the end it was kidney failure, and we had to make a tough but compassionate decision. Allie went to the Bridge early this morning with the assistance of our wonderful and compassionate friend Dr. Krisi Erwin, DVM.

The above photographs were taken during Dave’s recent visit, when Allie decided that Dave’s open journal was a comfortable place to lounge.

We will miss our little California girl.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. Sounds like she had a beautiful life and was very much loved. :-)

Cernjul Viviana said...

Hello, nice blog. Excellent work. Nice arts. Best wishes from Argentina.

kathy stewart said...

sorry to hear about your little darling - she looks so kissable, she also has that look in her eyes that you did the right thing

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear of your loss. We just lost our dear Rosie this week to cancer. Not our dog but a dear friends dog. I feel like I lost a child.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I can tell she had a wonderful life in a wonderful home. We lost a calico recently who looked a lot like Allie.

Ann Renee Lighter said...

My sympathy for you loss.... the hardest part of loving a cat or dog is making the decision to help them go when the time comes. It's tough.
Remember the good times and know that you gave her the greatest gift of all in not letting her suffer.
I enjoy your work as a journal artist and use your youtube videos on painting backgrounds in the classes I teach (high school art teacher who promotes visual journaling in drawing and painting classes) I also have your book in my classroom.
Thanks for sharing.

Trece said...

My heart aches and breaks for your loss. I infer from your words that you 'know' about the Rainbow Bridge. I pray the God's love will fill the vacancy with His love. I will add you and your wife to my prayers.

liz purple said...

I am so sorry about your cat I love animals.

Beth9lives@aol.com said...

So sorry about Allie. I am the offical crazy cat lady on my street. I have several that are getting older. My oldest is 17. It hurts to say goodbye.
Love this site and all the art. Gives me new ideas for my art journal.

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