April 18, 2005
Loss
Twenty five years ago
while I was taking horticulture classes, I had a gardening route to help pay
the bills. My mom asked me to drop by the apartment of one of her friends
so I could do some pruning on a bush outside her window. It was a small job
and I spent more time in casual conversation than pruning the shrub. I must
have made some sort of impression because my mother mentioned how much that
woman had enjoyed my visit. A couple of years later, my mother mentioned
that the woman from my shrub pruning job was in County Mental Health after
attempting suicide. She had taken her cat to the vet to have it “put down”
and then walked a third of the way up the Coronado Bridge and jumped.
Last Monday Smokey, my
cat, died from complications due to diabetes. Of course I’m not
suicidal but just the same, I’m feeling the loss. I’m amazed at how attached
people get to their pets. For two weeks I was giving him daily insulin shots and
even sleeping with him at night on the couch. Unfortunately he was 11 years
old and unable to rally like he had on earlier occasions. After retirement I
had gotten used to him being by my side and now I really notice his absence
when I come in the front door. Only pet owners will understand.
