My heart is completely hurt. Sometimes this life of rescue
is very very hard. I don’t even know how to say what must be said. We have lost 3 dear lives, all within 24
hours. The following have left our lives
but will never leave our hearts.
Miss Muffin—our very old calico Covie girl. She arrived here
9/5/17 as a geriatric outside cat that needed a home. We knew when we took her
into FFRC, that she had already had a very long life. We were asked by good
friends if we could take her on for the remainder of her life. She became a
Covie and had a great life there with the other Covies. She was so very thin
but soon gained weight. She so loved the grass and the sunshine on their cement
patio. We started noticing that she was beginning to recklessly wander. It increased
in intensity to the point that when it rained we would have to go check on her
as she probably was wandering around outside instead of in the great The House
That Jonah Built building. Recently, she
started staying more inside the building but life was changing for her. We
brought her inside for her last few days before she passed away. She will be so
missed but I know she was a very happy girl.
Harvest—This sweet girl had been at FFRC as a young kitten.
She was adopted into a home and lived there for 12 years. Unfortunately she had
to be returned due to the people’s lifestyle changes. This cat just really
touched me. Here’s an older cat that lost her home and had to come back to
FFRC. We showed her love and she returned it to us. She was joy to hold as she
cuddled right into that arm hug. She was always an “old soul”—seeming and
looking years older than her almost 13 years. She simply went down yesterday
morning and passed peacefully away.
Paddy Purr—this one especially is a heart breaker. Purr has
been a part of FFRC since he arrived on his first day of life on 7/31/10. He is like a cornerstone for FFRC. How can we
go on without this lovely boy? I just don’t know the answer to that. We’ve
known all his life that he has had a heart murmur. Our vet has given him a
physical almost monthly all these years. His heart itself was good—his heart
murmur truly did not need any treatment. He sometimes was called “Fang” for his
canines that always jutted out. Such a dear dear boy. I imagine he had an
embolism that quickly took his life. It was as if he simply went to sleep, peacefully. This loss is particularly hard. He has been a
part of our daily lives. I cannot imagine him not being here.
There’s something missing here at FFRC, with these 3 cats
being gone. I can feel it and it doesn’t feel quite right. We are allowed to
mourn the loss of our pets—it’s natural because we take them right into our
hearts. We know them—we know their special quirks, their special snackers , their
likes and dislikes. And we dote on them which gives us joy.
Sometimes my heart hurts so much with these losses. Yet,
there is so much life all around us here at FFRC. The kittens and their funny
antics, the adults who think they require a thousand pets a day (and they do require
that). The oldsters who have special
privileges. It’s ok to grieve. And it’s ok to keep on going in this rescue
world. We will always hold our passed cats close even while still going forward
in rescue work. I will mourn. The
volunteers will mourn. Our chatters, lurkers and supporters will mourn. And
that is all ok. But…..we also have to
keep focused on the life around us—it’s full and overflowing with yet more love
that is being given to us. Love is indeed a “renewable resource” and so we
shall continue on, to give compassion and to carry on rescuing. Thank you all
for being a part of what we do here.
