This is so true Please read
Matthew
"Pets' lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the
pain is coming, you're going to lose a pet, and there's going to be great
anguish, so you live fully in the moment with them, never fail to share
their joy or delight in their innocence, because you can't support the
illusion that a pet can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in
the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it
comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving pets is a way we do penance for
all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make
because of those illusions."
Dean Koontz's _The Darkest Evening of the Year
Granby
"Matthew" <iamacat...@proudtoserve.com> wrote in message
news:4b08dad1$0$4949$9a6e...@unlimited.newshosting.com...
Gandalf
Choices
The little orange boy stopped. Behind him, kitties were
playing, chasing each other and wrestling in the warm sunshine. It
looked like so much fun, but in front of him, through the clear
stillness of the pond's water, he could see his mommy.
And she was crying.
He pawed at the water, trying to get at her, and when that
didn't work, he jumped into the shallow water. All that got him was
wet and Mommy's image danced away in the ripples. "Mommy!" he cried.
"Is something wrong?"
The little orange boy turned around. A lady was standing at
the edge of the pond, her eyes sad but filled with love. The little
orange boy sighed and walked out of the water.
"There's been a mistake," he said. "I'm not supposed to be
here." He looked back at the water. It was starting to still again and
his mommy's image was coming back. "I'm just a baby. Mommy said it had
to be a mistake. She said I wasn't supposed to come here yet."
The kind lady sighed and sat down on the grass. The little
orange boy climbed into her lap. It wasn't Mommy's lap, but it was
almost as good. When she started to pet him and scratch under his chin
like he liked, he started to purr. He hadn't wanted to, but he
couldn't help it.
"I'm afraid there is no mistake. You are supposed to be here
and your mommy knows it deep down in her heart," the lady said.
The little orange boy sighed and laid his head on the lady's
leg. "But she's so sad. It hurts me to see her cry. And daddy too."
"But they knew right from the beginning this would happen."
"That I was sick?" That surprised the little orange boy. No
one had ever said anything and he had listened when they thought he
was sleeping. All he had heard them talk about was how cute he was or
how fast he was or how big he was getting.
"No, not that you were sick," the lady said. "But you see,
they chose tears."
"No, they didn't," the little orange boy argued. Who would
choose to cry?
The lady gently brushed the top of his head with a kiss. It
made him feel safe and loved and warm- but he still worried about his
mommy. "Let me tell you a story," the lady said.
The little orange boy looked up and saw other animals
gathering around. Cats - Big Boy and Snowball and Shamus and Abby and
little Cleo and Robin. Merlin and Toby and Iggy and Zachary. Sweetie
and Kamatte and OBie. Dogs too- Sally and Baby and Morgan and Rocky
and Belle. Even a lizard named Clyde and some rats named Saffron and
Becky and a hamster named Odo. They all lay down near the kind lady
and looked up at her, waiting.
She smiled at them and began:
A long long time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in
Charge. They were lonesome and asked the Angel to help them.
The Angel took them to a wall of windows and let them look out
the first window at all sorts of things- dolls and stuffed animals and
cars and toys and sporting events.
"Here are things you can love," the Angel said. "They will
keep you from being lonesome."
"Oh, thank you," the Loving Ones said. "These are just what we
need."
"You have chosen Pleasure," the Angel told them.
But after a time the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in
Charge. "Things are okay to love," they said. "But they don't care
that we love them."
The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window. It
looked out at all sorts of wild animals. "Here are animals to love,"
he said. "They will know you love them."
So the Loving Ones hurried out to care for the wild animals.
"You have chosen Satisfaction," the Angel said.
Some of the Loving Ones worked at zoos and wild animal
preserves, some just had bird feeders in their yards, but after a time
they all came back to the Angel in Charge.
"They know we love them," they told the Angel. "But they don't
love us back. We want to be loved in return."
So the Angel took them to the third window and showed them
lots of people walking around, hurrying places. "Here are people for
you to love," the Angel told them.
So the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love.
"You have chosen Commitment," the Angel said.
But after a time a lot of Loving Ones came back to the Angel
in Charge.
"People were okay to love," they said. "But sometimes they
stopped loving us and left. They broke our hearts."
The Angel just shook his head. "I cannot help you," he said.
"You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you."
As the Loving Ones were leaving, someone saw a window off to
one side and hurried to look out. Through it, they could see puppies
and kittens and dogs and cats and lizards and hamsters and ferrets.
The other Loving Ones hurried over.
"What about these?" they asked.
But the Angel just tried to shoo them away. "Those are
Personal Empathy Trainers," he said. "But there's a problem with their
system operations."
"Would they know that we love them?" someone asked.
"Yes," the Angel said.
"Would they love us back?" another asked.
"Yes," the Angel said.
"Will they stop loving us?" someone else asked.
"No," the Angel admitted. "They will love you forever."
"Then these are what we want," the Loving Ones said.
But the Angel was very upset. "You don't understand," he told
them. "You will have to feed these animals."
"That's all right," the Loving Ones said.
"You will have to clean up after them and take care of them
forever."
"We don't care."
The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where the
Pets were and picked them up, seeing the love in their own hearts
reflected in the animals' eyes.
"They were not made as well as you," the Angel said. ".
We don't know how durable they are. Some of them
malfunction very quickly, others last a long time."
But the Loving Ones did not care. They were holding the warm
little bodies and finding their hearts so filled with love that they
thought they would burst. "We will take our chances," they said.
"You do not understand." The Angel tried one more time. "They
are so dependent on you that even the most well-made of them is not
designed to outlive you. You are destined to suffer their loss."
The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms and
nodded. "That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the love
they offer."
The Angel just watched them all go, shaking his head. "You
have chosen Tears," he whispered.
"So it is," the kind lady told the kitties. "And so each mommy
and daddy knows. When they take a baby into their heart, they know
that one day it will leave them and they will cry."
The little orange boy sat up. "So why do they take us in?" he
asked.
"Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain
later."
"Oh." The little orange boy got off the lady's lap and went
back to the edge of the pond. His mommy was still there, and still
crying. "Will she ever stop crying?" he asked the kind lady.
She nodded. "You see, the Angel felt sorry for the Loving
Ones, knowing how much they would suffer. He couldn't take the tears
away but he made them special."
She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle
off her fingers. "He made them healing tears, formed from the special
water here. Each tear holds bits of all the happy times of purring and
petting and shared love. And the promise of love once again. As your
mommy cries, she is healing.
"It may take a long while, but the tears will help her feel
better. In time she will be less sad and she will smile when she
thinks of you. And then she will open her heart again to another
little baby.
"But then she will cry again one day," the little orange boy
said.
The lady just smiled at him as she got to her feet. "No, she
will love again. That is all she will think about." She picked up Big
Boy and Snowball and gave them hugs, then scratched Morgan's ear just
how she liked.
"Look," she said. "The butterflies have come. Shall we go over
to play?"
The other animals all ran ahead, but the little orange boy
wasn't ready to leave his mommy. "Will I ever get to be with her
again?"
The kind lady nodded. "You'll be in the eyes of every kitty
she looks at. You'll be in the purr of every cat she pets. And late at
night, when she's fast asleep, your spirit will snuggle up close to
her and you both will feel at peace. One day soon, you can even send
her a rainbow to tell her you're safe and waiting here for when it's
her turn to come."
"I would like that," the little orange boy said and took one
long look at his mommy. He saw her smile slightly through her tears
and he knew she had remembered the time he almost fell into the
bathtub.
"I love you, Mommy," he whispered. "It's okay if you cry." He
glanced over at the other pets, running and playing and laughing with
the butterflies. "Uh, Mommy? I gotta go play now, okay? But I'll be
around, I promise."
Then he turned and raced after the others.
The little orange boy looked up and saw other animals
gathering around. Cats - Big Boy and Snowball and Shamus and Abby and
little Cleo and Robin. Merlin and Toby and Iggy and Zachary. Sweetie
and Kamatte and OBie. Dogs too- Sally and Baby and Morgan and Rocky
and Belle. Even a lizard named Clyde and some rats named Saffron and
Becky and a hamster named Odo. They all lay down near the kind lady
and looked up at her, waiting.
She smiled at them and began:
A long long time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in
Charge. They were lonesome and asked the Angel to help them.
The Angel took them to a wall of windows and let them look out
the first window at all sorts of things- dolls and stuffed animals and
cars and toys and sporting events.
"Here are things you can love," the Angel said. "They will
keep you from being lonesome."
"Oh, thank you," the Loving Ones said. "These are just what we
need."
"You have chosen Pleasure," the Angel told them.
But after a time the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in
Charge. "Things are okay to love," they said. "But they don't care
that we love them."
The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window. It
looked out at all sorts of wild animals. "Here are animals to love,"
he said. "They will know you love them."
So the Loving Ones hurried out to care for the wild animals.
"You have chosen Satisfaction," the Angel said.
Some of the Loving Ones worked at zoos and wild animal
preserves, some just had bird feeders in their yards, but after a time
they all came back to the Angel in Charge.
"They know we love them," they told the Angel. "But they don't
love us back. We want to be loved in return."
So the Angel took them to the third window and showed them
lots of people walking around, hurrying places. "Here are people for
you to love," the Angel told them.
So the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love.
"You have chosen Commitment," the Angel said.
But after a time a lot of Loving Ones came back to the Angel
in Charge.
"People were okay to love," they said. "But sometimes they
stopped loving us and left. They broke our hearts."
The Angel just shook his head. "I cannot help you," he said.
"You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you."
As the Loving Ones were leaving, someone saw a window off to
one side and hurried to look out. Through it, they could see puppies
and kittens and dogs and cats and lizards and hamsters and ferrets.
The other Loving Ones hurried over.
"What about these?" they asked.
But the Angel just tried to shoo them away. "Those are
Personal Empathy Trainers," he said. "But there's a problem with their
system operations."
"Would they know that we love them?" someone asked.
"Yes," the Angel said.
"Would they love us back?" another asked.
"Yes," the Angel said.
"Will they stop loving us?" someone else asked.
"No," the Angel admitted. "They will love you forever."
"Then these are what we want," the Loving Ones said.
But the Angel was very upset. "You don't understand," he told
them. "You will have to feed these animals."
"That's all right," the Loving Ones said.
"You will have to clean up after them and take care of them
forever."
"We don't care."
The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where the
Pets were and picked them up, seeing the love in their own hearts
reflected in the animals' eyes.
"They were not made as well as you," the Angel said. ".
We don't know how durable they are. Some of them
malfunction very quickly, others last a long time."
But the Loving Ones did not care. They were holding the warm
little bodies and finding their hearts so filled with love that they
thought they would burst. "We will take our chances," they said.
"You do not understand." The Angel tried one more time. "They
are so dependent on you that even the most well-made of them is not
designed to outlive you. You are destined to suffer their loss."
The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms and
nodded. "That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the love
they offer."
The Angel just watched them all go, shaking his head. "You
have chosen Tears," he whispered.
"So it is," the kind lady told the kitties. "And so each mommy
and daddy knows. When they take a baby into their heart, they know
that one day it will leave them and they will cry."
The little orange boy sat up. "So why do they take us in?" he
asked.
"Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain
later."
"Oh." The little orange boy got off the lady's lap and went
back to the edge of the pond. His mommy was still there, and still
crying. "Will she ever stop crying?" he asked the kind lady.
She nodded. "You see, the Angel felt sorry for the Loving
Ones, knowing how much they would suffer. He couldn't take the tears
away but he made them special."
She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle
off her fingers. "He made them healing tears, formed from the special
water here. Each tear holds bits of all the happy times of purring and
petting and shared love. And the promise of love once again. As your
mommy cries, she is healing.
"It may take a long while, but the tears will help her feel
better. In time she will be less sad and she will smile when she
thinks of you. And then she will open her heart again to another
little baby.
"But then she will cry again one day," the little orange boy
said.
The lady just smiled at him as she got to her feet. "No, she
will love again. That is all she will think about." She picked up Big
Boy and Snowball and gave them hugs, then scratched Morgan's ear just
how she liked.
"Look," she said. "The butterflies have come. Shall we go over
to play?"
The other animals all ran ahead, but the little orange boy
wasn't ready to leave his mommy. "Will I ever get to be with her
again?"
The kind lady nodded. "You'll be in the eyes of every kitty
she looks at. You'll be in the purr of every cat she pets. And late at
night, when she's fast asleep, your spirit will snuggle up close to
her and you both will feel at peace. One day soon, you can even send
her a rainbow to tell her you're safe and waiting here for when it's
her turn to come."
"I would like that," the little orange boy said and took one
long look at his mommy. He saw her smile slightly through her tears
and he knew she had remembered the time he almost fell into the
bathtub.
"I love you, Mommy," he whispered. "It's okay if you cry." He
glanced over at the other pets, running and playing and laughing with
the butterflies. "Uh, Mommy? I gotta go play now, okay? But I'll be
around, I promise."
Then he turned and raced after the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ >^..^<
"Life without cats would be only marginally worth living."
-TC, and the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie.
Every day is a treasure with Kenzie; I try to treat them that way. There
will only be so many, and then there will never, ever, be any more.
How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven.
- Robert Heinlein
Christina Websell
"Matthew" <iamacat...@proudtoserve.com> wrote in message
news:4b08dad1$0$4949$9a6e...@unlimited.newshosting.com...
I suffer grief every time one of my pets dies but what would I do if they
outlived me? Who would I trust them to when I was gone?
Although it would be ideal if our pets died at the very moment we did,
unless we all die in a flood or fire this is not likely to happen.
So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you die
unexpectedly? along with your partner?
I had to make arrangements few years or two ago. Helen M was going to have
KFC (she will not have to now) and Debbie was getting Boyfriend,
June would have decided what to do with my poultry.
Tweed
NettieCat
wrote:
>
> So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you die
> unexpectedly? along with your partner?
>
> I had to make arrangements few years or two ago. Helen M was going to have
> KFC (she will not have to now) and Debbie was getting Boyfriend,
> June would have decided what to do with my poultry.
>
> Tweed
I volunteer for a CP branch, and the branch knows that they'll be
getting a substantial donation for each cat I own at the time of my
death. I keep my cats vaccinated so they can go into commercial
boarding until the branch has a space available for them, the money is
partly to cover those costs. I trust my husband to look after them if
I go first, of course. I don't trust any of my relatives, I get too
many phone calls every week from people wanting us to take in cats
that belonged to their parents / grandparents.
My mother-in-law died suddenly and unexpectedly last year, and her
widower remarried within a few months. I was worried that he wouldn't
take their cat with him to his new home, but to my relief, Marmy has
settled in well with him and his new wife. We would have taken her
rather than see her go to a rescue centre, as she's a bad tempered
hellion who would find it very hard to find a new home.
Jeanette
bastX...@sonic.net
> I suffer grief every time one of my pets dies but what would I do if they
> outlived me? Who would I trust them to when I was gone?
> Although it would be ideal if our pets died at the very moment we did,
> unless we all die in a flood or fire this is not likely to happen.
> So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you die
> unexpectedly? along with your partner?
I haven't made formal arrangements, but two friends have promised to make
sure they find new homes.
> I had to make arrangements few years or two ago. Helen M was going to have
> KFC (she will not have to now)
I would phrase that as "she will not *get* to now"!
--
I will not sniff at my male human's feet after he takes his shoes off,
freeze my mouth open in disgust and then sniff my private parts to compare
odors. My female human might find it amusing, but my male human does not
appreciate it, especially in front of company. -- Cat Resolutions
Gandalf
My cat Kenzie, and any cat(s) I might acquire in the future, and
pre-decease, are provided for in my Last Will and Testament.
That's assuming that I have any money or property when I die :(
Christina Websell
<bastX...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:4b0aed26$0$1669$742e...@news.sonic.net...
> Christina Websell wrote:
>
> > I suffer grief every time one of my pets dies but what would I do if
> > they
> > outlived me? Who would I trust them to when I was gone?
> > Although it would be ideal if our pets died at the very moment we did,
> > unless we all die in a flood or fire this is not likely to happen.
>
> > So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you
> > die
> > unexpectedly? along with your partner?
>
> I haven't made formal arrangements, but two friends have promised to make
> sure they find new homes.
>
> > I had to make arrangements few years or two ago. Helen M was going to
> > have
> > KFC (she will not have to now)
>
> I would phrase that as "she will not *get* to now"!
>
Please do not tell me how to speak my own language. I know exactly what I
meant and I said so how it should be said. In English.
Don't start me on this. The very idea that an American tries to correct my
English is sort of amazing!
Tweed
Jofirey
"Christina Websell" <ti...@tinawebsell.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in
message news:7n0v5eF...@mid.individual.net...
And you are over reacting to something that was meant kindly. In
the first place she did not tell you what you should have said. She
told you what she would have said. There is a difference. In the
second place, she is allowing that being the one to care for KFC if
it became necessary would be an honor, not just an obligation. At
least that's how I have always seem the difference between having to
do something and getting to do something.
Jo
Sherry
<t...@tinawebsell.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote:
going to
> > > have
> > > KFC (she will not have to now)
>
> > I would phrase that as "she will not *get* to now"!
>
> Would you?
> Please do not tell me how to speak my own language. I know exactly what I
> meant and I said so how it should be said. In English.
> Don't start me on this. The very idea that an American tries to correct my
> English is sort of amazing!
>
Oh, for cripe's sake. I don't believe this.
She is MAKING THE POINT, that it is FORTUNATE that you are still
around
to care for the cats yourself. She was NOT correcting your grammar.
Why do you constantly make the "American/Non-American" distinction?
You
are the only one who does. It's getting old.
Sherry
Sherry
I have posted impetuously. So like me.
I stand corrected. I believe Jo's interpretation is correct. That in
her opinion it would be
an honor, not an obligation.
I don't retract the fact that I think it was ridiculous for you to go
off on Joyce. Or to
insinuate that her country of origin has anything to do with her
ability to do with
her ability to write properly.
Sherry
bastX...@sonic.net
> <bastX...@sonic.net> wrote in message
>>> I had to make arrangements few years or two ago. Helen M was going to
>>> have KFC (she will not have to now)
>> I would phrase that as "she will not *get* to now"!
> Would you?
> Please do not tell me how to speak my own language. I know exactly what I
> meant and I said so how it should be said. In English.
> Don't start me on this. The very idea that an American tries to correct my
> English is sort of amazing!
Um... Christina? LOL, easy on that trigger, there. I'm not telling you
how to speak English. I was simply pointing out that Helen M has not
been relieved of a terrible burden (ie, taking care of KFC), but in
fact has been deprived of a privilege. It's not that she doesn't *have*
to, it's that she won't *get* to.
("...Oh. Well, that's different. Never Mind."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Litella )
Ahem,
Joyce
--
Promise me you'll never wear pants that bind or tug or hurt, pants
that have an opinion about how much you've just eaten.
-- Anne Lamott
Matthew
YOU MY FRIEND. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS.
"Gandalf" <g.ga...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:4b0a2253...@news.iphouse.com...
BfloPolska
<t...@tinawebsell.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote:
> I think you'll find that I've said a similar thing several times.
> I suffer grief every time one of my pets dies but what would I do if they
> outlived me? Who would I trust them to when I was gone?
> Although it would be ideal if our pets died at the very moment we did,
> unless we all die in a flood or fire this is not likely to happen.
>
> So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you die
> unexpectedly? along with your partner?
The shelter where I volunteer will look after ours. If my Esteemed
Boss is no longer involved by this time--every once in a while she
speaks of retirement--provisions will be made with our insurance and
annuities for another no-kill shelter to take ours (lifelong care
promised with an estate gift) and either look after them or place them
in a nursing home particitpating in a Senior Kitty program. Barring
this, we have friends who have agreed to take ours in if God forbid
something happens.
Thanks, by the way, for re-posting the story above...I often turn to
it when I am feeling guilty over Odessa, as I still do from time to
time, and have been of late. I need a reminder too, sometimes, that
she's up there playing instead of cussing me out--though she does that
fluently and gleefully!
Blessed be,
Baha
Enfilade
> > So, a poll. Who has made arrangements to have them taken care of if you die
> > unexpectedly? along with your partner?
My father will take Nocturne, Smokey, Kumani and Tyche into his home
and spoil them rotten for the rest of their natural lives should
anything happen to myself and DP. He says if someday, that is the
last thing he can do for us, he'll do it gladly. And he says that
knowing Nocturne likes to lick his eyebrows at 2 am.
Eventually we are going to have to change this arrangement...my father
is in his mid sixties. I don't see him in a seniors-only no-pets
complex for another 15-20 years if ever, and, sad to say, but if DP
and I get hit by buses tomorrow, I don't think our cats will live to
25+ years of age, so it wouldn't be an issue.
It's going to be more of an issue for any younger cats we may get at
some point in the future.
--Fil
Christina Websell
"Sherry" <srid...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3c91004d-f05f-4c75...@1g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...
---
Is that what I said? That Joyce could not write properly because she is
American?
I think you will find that I did not. I said American "English" is not the
same as English.
And it isn't.
Tweed