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| big yawn |
I haven't written a look back of last week yet, and don't plan to do so.
Work was accomplished, good things did happen, goals were met, but it was all overshadowed as we watched our JackJack become more ill as the week progressed. This illness, of body and mind, culminated in our decision to have him put to sleep yesterday.
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| sweet, sleeping face |
It was a tremendously difficult and painful decision that was made monumentally worse by a trusted and liked vet who, because she disagreed with our decision, was rude, cruel and unprofessional. As a result, our final moments with Jack Dempsey were spent in a room wrought with tension and stress.
Right now, though, it's too fresh to forgive; plus it's hindering my ability to grieve fully for our Jack, which causes me to become angry all over again.
I'll return to pick up Jack's ashes, pay our balance, and see when St. John's next appointment should be scheduled. After that, I'll gladly never enter that building again. The vet felt that after many years as both excellent clients and cat parents, we needed to find another vet--yes she was that angry with us--and so do we. I will never trust her or that practice again.
Enough on the that, though. I want to celebrate Jack's short time with us.
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| at ease in the recliner |
He was so sweet and loving, despite having been feral before I found him. He quickly became a lap cat--well, actually, a squeeze-in-beside-you-in-the-recliner cat, or a sit-on-the-arm-of-your-recliner cat. He sat on a bar stool at the dining room table with us, never begging, just being a part. As his illness progressed and he needed the closeness of my husband more, he slept in the curve of my husband's arm, snuggled close.
He loved back rubs, shredded sharp cheddar, canned food with lots of "gravy" and sleeping on the couch.
He enjoyed playing with toys, but his favorite game was to chase the "red bug" (laser pointer), especially if we ran it up onto the recliner.
He knew exactly when my husband was due home from work, and would be impatient for him if he were late.
He was a kind friend to Lizzie and was St. John's idol.
Jack's heart was always torn between his love for us and his wild nature; this eventually led to his mental anguish, we believe. We were blessed to have him, though, even just for two years. The pain of losing a pet is negligible when compared to the joy that pet has given.
(Note: Jack's ear was folded back like that because of an untreated ear infection that caused a rupture in the skin, before we found him. He also had been shot with a pellet gun at least once, as one pellet was lodged inside him, under his front right armpit. Also, despite being just about a year old when we took him in, he had severe arthritis that made moving around very difficult in cold or wet seasons. All this is due to the rough life he had as an uncared for outside cat. If see you an uncared for cat or dog, have mercy on them and try to take them to the shelter. They are better off euthanized at the shelter than living a life like what Jack lived before I picked him up off the side of the road!)
Be at peace at last, Jack Dempsey! We certainly do miss you!
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| sunning in the window |
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| Jack's 2012 Christmas portrait |
