Saturday, May 14, 2011

Godspeed, our beloved "big guy."

Sorry for the delay in posting...with the maintenance issue with Blogger, I was unable to post this until now.

In the midst of the current turmoil in our house (me recovering from my car accident, and ESM working part-time and also trying to start a new business), I must report some very sad kitty news. Mr. Hubbard, our oldest (16 to 18, we’re not sure exactly) and the first kitty we adopted together, made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge Thursday afternoon.

He has been in declining health for some time now, however that decline has been noticeably accelerating over the last several weeks. We finally made the difficult decision that it would be better for him not to suffer any more than he had already. We made the appointment several days ago to allow us some quality time at the end, including both of us taking time off to spend his last day with him. We took lots of pictures and video, to add to the already large collection we have.

For our final act of love, we took him to the vet that has been seeing him for the last six plus years. They have treated him through all his various age-related illnesses, including his cataracts, pancreatitus, diabetes, arthritis in his hips and several other issues. They have been so good with him (and us) over the years, we felt they should have a chance to say their good-byes and help him in his final journey. He passed peacefully from this earth with the vet, his favorite vet tech and his adopted parents by his side at 5:02pm on Thursday, May 12th, 2011. He will be individually cremated, and his remains returned to us on Tuesday.

ESM and I are planning to plant some orange tiger lilies in our yard, in his honor. We wanted something symbolic for us to remember him by (even though tiger lilies are poisonous to cats), and when they bloom each year we will have a beautiful reminder of his 13 years with us.

I know I have urged this before, however you will have to suffer through my urging it again. Please, go find someone you love (furry or not), give them a big hug and tell them how much you love them. You never know when you might not have the chance again.

As part of my healing, I will post again very soon with more about his life with us.

Mr. Hubbard, we love you so very much and you will always be in our thoughts and hearts. Vaya con dios, big guy. We’ll see you again at the bridge.

6 comments:

  1. Sundown, you and KittyChair have been in my thoughts and prayers all weekend. And Hubbard, well, I know Winnie has already shown him the ropes at the Bridge, where he's free of the discomforts that this mortal coil brings. I love the tiger lily tribute - how beautiful and fitting! Hugs from B'more, hon. I look forward to celebrating his life with you!

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  2. Me and my cat Charlie have come over from Space Paws. We are very very sorry to hear about the loss of beautiful Mr Hubbard. We are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers. Take care
    x

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  3. So sorry for your loss. I hugged my three girls extra tonight, in honor of Hubbard.

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  4. We came over from Space Paws after reading about your very handsome Hubbard. He had a long life but we never have them with us long enough, so we know you miss him.

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  5. Thank you to all that have come and posted! Please know that your words have touched us, and we deeply appreciate your kindness. Thank you.

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  6. We are so very sorry for your loss. We heard from our friends at Space Paws about your beloved Hubbard's passing. Thank you for loving him so much and so well. Purrs and prayers to you all.

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Hey, I tell you what is... is abuse, is bad language, is spam? Oy, is big shoes!