A Sad Goodbye.

Yesterday, I had a terrible decision to make. A few months back, our cat, Tucker got into a fight with some sort of animal outside. And lost. We took him to the vet, but upon inspecting his vet records, I didn't realize that his rabies shot had expired. I thought he had a three-year booster that expired in January 2010. Big oops. We were sent home under orders to quarantine him and give him medicine. If the incident actually happened in Rhode Island, we would have had to put him down immediately. (They are very strict about preservation in that state.)

Fast forward to last week. I'd noticed some rather unusual behavior from Tucker. He endlessly allowed me to rub his tummy (which he HATES and will usually attack your hand), his eyes were glassy, and he seemed to not understand how to control all his legs. Tucker was 8, but he was very healthy until then. We monitored him for a few days, and the symptoms grew. His personality seemed to have left him, he slept all the time, he wasn't eating or expelling. He just wasn't himself. But we don't have many options. At this point, there's not many vets that will touch him, simply because of his bite. And we were worried, because if he bit someone, namely our own children, well, we could lose them. And have serious legal issues.

Growing up, I can't even tell you how many rescue animals we adopted. Some we saved, some were beyond saveable. Most all of them lived into their late teens. But I never had to make the decision. But now, Tucker is in heaven. The kids took it relatively well. The Son is having a harder time with it, he doesn't get that Tucker won't return from heaven. But he knows he's gone.

I miss that little cat. I don't really like cats too much. Tucker was my first. The Husband grew up with cats, and this was essentially "his cat." We always joked that we stole him. We found him outside a 7-11 one Sunday evening. He was in good health, about 5-7 months old, and jumped right into the Husband's arms. And home with us he went. He was an energetic kitten, as most are. He and the dog have always gotten along really well. They even matched! He was personable, most of our friends who also don't care for cats LOVED Tucker. He seemed to also have an affinity for people that are severely allergic to him. A sixth sense, I guess.

Rest in Peace, Tucker. You will always be remembered and loved. We'll send you a balloon message to heaven when we need to talk. At least you're not suffering anymore.