The Death of a Pet

My sister-in-law lost her beloved cat of 14 years a couple of days ago. The cat was hit by a car and a neighbor informed her of what happened. She was really sad. With my three cats, I've had to put them all "down." I don't know which is worse--playing God, or having your pet die suddenly and unexpectedly. What do you think?

I did have my three cats cremated. I still have their ashes, and when the last cat passes, I am going to bury them all together. I would have buried them in the back yard, but my dog would have made things extremely disturbing for me. Like a lot of dogs, she likes to bury things and then dig them back up. It's funny, not haha funny, but when my first cat was cremated, the humane society took a really long time to return the ashes. I called to find out what was going on. They said that they were waiting for more animals before they fired it up. In other words, Penny's ashes were intermingled with Spike's and Fluffy's and maybe a hamster or two.

Losing those fur balls has been very difficult. They're like members of the family. I saw this pic of a pet cemetery in San Francisco. Why aren't there more? Stephen King perhaps?

Birth and Death

Okay, just like my life sometimes, this picture is kind of screwy--both the content and the way I have uploaded it. Since I am technologically challenged, you'll just have to bear with me. Today is my birthday. For most people, this is a happy day. For me, it is usually a day of reflection. I think about what I've done so far--what I haven't done. What I want to do. Life goes by super fast. Blink and you'll miss it. I like to keep my eyes open. Maybe that's why I'm ruminating on the whole death thing. It's going to happen to us all.

My meeting with the medium on Friday was kind of strange. She told me that I died suddenly and tragically in my past two lives, so in this life I made a contract to explore death and not to fear it.

So, how did I spend my day? I went to work. I went to my kids' school orientation. Then I came home. Did a little more work. Dabbled on Face book. Now, I'm here. Posting a silly little thought out loud. I'm grateful I'm here today. Despite the screwiness of things, I'm pretty lucky and I appreciate the fact that I've had this day.

The End of the Road

I commute 55 miles every day in an area that is chock-full o’ wild life, so I it is not uncommon for me to encounter road kill. On my daily drive, I’ve seen: dogs, cats, porcupines, foxes, prairie dogs, squirrels, birds, deer, elk, raccoons; all in various states of damage on the side or smack dab in the middle of the road.

Today, I saw something that some might view as hitting the road kill lotto, a giant black cow. It was incredibly disturbing to see the amount of blood on the highway. People in India were probably weeping, not to mention the person who hit the giant animal and the farmer who owned it.

Random thought that popped into my head. How does one hit a cow? It’s not like they are a sprinting, leaping kind of animal. They’re slow. And careful. They chew their cud and rest in the shade. Perhaps I’m wrong about this. I mean there is a line in a nursery rhyme about a cow jumping over the moon. Maybe there is a secret life to cows that I’m not privy to. Anyway, someone hit a cow in open range country. Bummer. I wonder if they left a note on the cow?

Seeing road kill makes me sad. Hitting an animal with my car makes me even sadder. Thus far, it has only been a little chipmunk and a couple of birds, which always scares the hell out of me. They have wings. They should be able to get the hell out of the way in a quick manner.

So, what have you hit? Do you feel bad about it?