Gracie...20_ _(?) - 2019

Wednesday I made the call. Looking back, that was the hardest thing. Because once that call was made, the decision was final. Sure, we could have called and said we'd changed our minds, but the reality was this...now was the time.

Back in January 2012 we visited some neighbors. Outside their house was a cat. The neighbors love cats so we wondered why this one was outside in the middle of winter. Turns out this cat was a stray and they were feeding it, but not allowing it inside in case it turned out to be sick (they didn't want their animals to catch anything...). 

When I saw that cat, I wanted to rescue it. That's just what we did. We drove down and brought her home. Her name was Gracie.

Today, with tears and broken hearts, we buried Gracie in the yard.

I've only had one pet we had to put down. When I was thirteen I got a dog, Tasha, a shih tzu/little neighborhood dog mix. She was a great dog and lived seventeen years. When we put Tasha down, she was blind, deaf, and her back legs were paralyzed. It was definitely time. 

With Gracie, her physical downfall was much slower. In fact, ever since we brought her home more than seven years ago, she was unwell. In the last year, we noticed a dramatic change. She wasn't the same animal. She was losing weight and not making it to the litter box in time more often than not.

We tried everything the vets told us to do. She got steroid shots again and again. And they helped, but as the vet said, not as long as he would have liked. Turns out, not as long as we would have liked as well.

After months and months of deliberation and hours and hours of discussion, we came to the painful conclusion it was time. The last thing we wanted was for our friend to slowly decline to the point where her suffering went unnoticed. Her condition was inoperable--she would never get better. As her guardian and friend, we needed to do what was best for her. That's not always what we'd like.

Wednesday, I made the call setting up the appointment. Today, as my wife held our little beautiful friend, we said goodbye. We brought her home and buried her in the yard where she loved to explore, in a box we signed. We'll miss your little face and your sweet little spirit. Goodnight, Gracie. Until we meet again.