The ground is frozen

We hoped to bury Luke in our little pet cemetery beside our back deck where 2 dogs 4 cats, a bird and who knows how many Guinea pigs lay resting. But the ground is frozen bone hard.

We agreed this morning to take him to be cremated. I went to the movies and when I came home, Bern was out. I called the Animal Hospital and they said to bring him in.

I drove all over Cheshire with Luke in his box in my car's trunk, looking for Bern. Found her in Big Y and told her I was taking him.

They were wonderful at the Hospital. I had to uncover his head so they could know he was dead. Everyone was kind and the young, female vet didn't blink when I told her he hadn't been to a vet for 15 years. "Wish I could avoid doctors like that," she said.

She also told me when older cats start losing weight rapidly, there is seldom any intervention that isn't invasive and painful and, in the end, animals are better off to die without treatment if they aren't in pain.

It may have been what she tells pet owners to make them feel better--and it worked for me....

When I came home, Bern was damp eyed and told me she'd started crying in Big Y and had to leave before she was through.

"Did you get the groceries?" I asked.

"Barely," she said, tearing up.

That's what they do to you--these creatures you invite into your lives...they get under your skin.

In a big, big way.

Rest well, Lukie....