Good-byes are hard

This has been a rough year for some of the furry friends I take care of off and on through the year.

Last year, one sweet kitty - Sophie got sick and was not able to be saved.  Her people adopted another, equally as sweet kitty named Mocha. Sadly, Mocha too got very sick (different problem) and was not able to be saved. Both of these girls were close to my heart and I miss them dearly. Their "brother" Rocky is still here and as charming as ever.

Tuesday, an 11 year-old pup I have known since she was adopted by her people also crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She was the sweetest yellow lab I have known.  And, like her "sisters" Cleo & Savannah before her, Sandie stole my heart. She was part of my best friend's family.

Even when the fur babies are not your own, it is easy to become very attached.

My heart breaks and tears come to my eyes as well.

My Max

Last night I talked about my friend Mike's sweet Savannah. Here is a photo of my buddy Max. This photo was taken several years ago when my ex and I were visiting Pendleton. It was taken in the garden outside the back door of the house. About 2 feet to the right of where this photo ends is where Max is at rest today. He died 7 years to the day after our move to Pendleton. Max was a wonderful friend and companion. Some nights I am sure he is curled up on my feet in bed as he did for a good part of his 18 years. I still miss him today. We had some nick-names for him like 'Tubby Tuna' he was 23 pounds at his heaviest, the vet even had to weigh him on the dog scale! And when we got him they said he was the runt of the litter and would stay small... I can't imagine what his siblings looked like fully grown! I can still remember the day we got him. We had to put down our previous cat Samantha the day before because she was so very sick with Diabetes (the worst the vet had ever seen). Our hearts and home were so empty, we searched for a new kitten. We ended up travelling 75 miles to Rochester, NY (we were living in Alfred, NY at the time) to a pet store where they had 4 kittens. 2 were orange tabbys and 2 were grey/black tabbys. Max was on top of the cat tower and the others were down below. We fell in love with his beautiful swirled markings and his white paws, not o mention his bold personality. On our way home in the car, we tried to decide on a name for him. We tried several and none seemed to fit. I had some t-shirts with a label of 'Sam & Max' and since our last cat was Sam, I said 'What about Max?' He responded to that name. We always said he picked his own name.

Hopefully Max and Savannah are playing well together somewhere and they are free of the pain of their last days. I will remember them always.

Goodbye Sweet Savannah

For all of you out there who have loved a pet, this entry is for you.

My dear friend Mike had to say goodbye this morning to his beautiful sweet chocolate Lab Savannah. She had her 9th birthday just yesterday. She has been ill for a few weeks now and the vet has not been able to determine what the problem was. Last night she took a drastic turn for the worse.

She was Mike's constant companion since she was a puppy. She went on the road with him when he was a sales rep. A sweeter, more faithful dog you would not find. And smart - wow - she put some of those 5 th graders on TV to shame!

I wish I had a photo of her that I could post. She was a beautiful dog.

In the last year or so she had become a good friend to me too, always excited to see me.

I could never miss her near as much as Mike does, but I will miss her too.

Goodbye Sweet Savannah, memories of you will live on in our hearts.