A few weeks ago I asked for purrs for a dog I grew up with.  Jaina was
diagnosed with renal failure back then and took a bad turn over the
weekend.

My mom called me yesterday to tell me that she and my dad had made the
decision to let her go this week.  As much as it broke my heart, I
knew from working with many animals with the same condition, it was an
inevitable outcome.

And today at work, I got the call and Mom said they had made the
decision for today.  Jaina was so weak she could barely eat, much less
walk.  Mom had a 3 pm appt with the vet.

So I was fighting back tears most of the day.....I had hoped that
Jaina would have made it to Xmas so I could have said goodbye.

Meanwhile I had to attend to a sick cat named Dezi with not much
medical history.  i shot x-rays and ran bloodwork.  I noticed that the
cat's blood was very very thin.  A normal PCV (Packed cell volume or
amount of red blood cells for lack of a better definitions) for a cat
is 25-40 %  This cat had a PCV of 9 percent.  NOT GOOD.

We ran an FELV test and it came back positive.  The doctor called the
owner and she elected to euthanize.

Great.......  And around 3 pm I was fighting back more tears and
failing.

I do pet-sitting on the side, and one of my clients has a 19 year old
cat that i've taken care of a few times.  Her owner brought her in and
I could tell it wasn't good.

Pussywillow has been a sick cat for a long time.  We're talking liver
failure, renal failure, borderline pancreatitis.  But she still had a
sweet nature and an attitude to match.  I should know, having had her
bite my finger when I gave her pills.

It was Pussywillow's time too and soon I was preparing the paperwork
and drawing up the dreaded pink solution.  I was trying not to cry.

All I could think about was how the technician up north had been doing
the exact same thing for Jaina.  I don't know how I managed but i
couldn't stop the tears from slipping out.

I know she had a very good life.  We rescued her from the shelter on
the day they were gonna euthanize her as a young dog and she gave us
14 wonderful years.  She's at peace now.

So here's to Dezi, Pussywillow and especially my little Jaina.  They
gave us so much joy in their own separate ways.

Kristi