As I sit down to write this post, it is with great sadness and a heavy heart. Today we had to put our beloved cat, Ally down. He's been ailing for a while now and battling arthritis and chronic upper-respiratory infections. We've been treating him with injectable antibiotics, which have only delayed the inevitable and kept him comfortable.
Paul and I came home from a family gathering for Mother's Day and Ally didn't seem himself. He was lying behind a chair in the living room in an isolated small space. He appeared listless. He didn't want any attention, so we let him be, but I was concerned about him.
It wasn't until I crawled into bed last night that I realized he wasn't up on our bed with us. He always comes to bed when Paul and I go to bed. He enjoys sitting between us for about 20 minutes each night. I moved toward the end of the bed to see if he was on the floor and that is when I noticed the bottom of the bed was wet. Ally had urinated in his usual sleeping spot sometime earlier.
I've always felt "I'd know" when the time was that we'd have to face this day and there is no amount of preparing one can do--yes, you can try to wrap your head around it, it's part of life, but still—very, very sad... I try to see the blessing in everything, as I don't believe in accidents. I believe whatever is to come our way is exactly how it’s supposed to; even though we may not understand it at the time (and rarely do.) It is this attitude and these beliefs which have carried me through some of the most painful moments in life.
For every difficulty or challenge life throws our way, something good happens and I was reminded of this very thing this morning. As I was praying to make it through today with some grace and gratitude for all the years we’ve had Ally, I looked outside my office window and saw the tiniest little rabbit—a new baby. Instinctively, I grabbed my camera and in that moment, I felt it: "This is life--give and take, good and bad, happy and sad, a carefully orchestrated balance that teaches us the lessons in life." Some lessons are repeats, because we’ve yet to learn and others we’ve yet to walk through, but it’s all a gift in the end.
Rest with those that have passed before you my sweet boy. You gave us years of joy and companionship Ally.
1 comment:
Ally you were a great cat and I loved you very much! May you enjoy a springy afterlife, play with Max and watch over your family from above! I believe our animals never really leave us in heart and spirit. P.S. I hope Ally is playing with Uncle Dave and keeping him company!
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