Bitter Sweet...

[Nanci]

PAW-PRINTS
(S L Smith)

Paw-prints in the sands of time,
Tracks along an empty beach,
Towards a fate which is not mine,
A destiny out of my reach.

You've gone where I will some day follow,
But for now you're out of sight,
Your years with me was time just borrowed,
Before you returned to heaven's light.

No longer in my sight, you vanished,
Through the veil of time and space,
In my memory you are cherished,
Ambassador of feline race.

Time and tides sweep clean your paw-marks,
Another's paws will tread anew,
But you carved paw-prints in my own heart,
Eternal love-prints, etched by you.

One day I'll see your paw-prints glowing,
Sparkling in the morning dew,
Guiding me at my time of going,
Leading me sunwards, back to you.




IN MEMORY
(Melody Collier)

Little cat, in a distant sky
Where mice are friends and bluebirds fly,
Where pain is forgotten and you can pass
With leaping grace over green, green grass;
Little cat, will you catch a star
And wonder, a moment, where you are?

Little cat, in a distant land
Where nothing can harm you as you stand
And gaze at the clouds, so pure, so white;
And all is glad with a fresh delight,
Little cat, in your newborn years,
Will you spare a thought for my falling tears?

[kaybee]

Oh Mak, I'm so sorry about Max, but you know you did the right thing, and he's in kitty heaven right now, thanking you for ending his suffering. The new bike will be a good diversion for you right now. Hope you feel better soon.

KB

[Lise]

So sorry for the sadness and suffering, and glad that you could set him free. It's such a hard choice to make, and such a loving one. I know one day I'll have to decide it for Ariel and Isaac, my two cats. They are so very present and give me nothing but love. What can we do but love them back, and set them free when to stay only means suffering? This will get easier, and his spirit will always be with you. L.

[SnappyPix]

Mak, so sorry to hear about Max.
Having lost four legged friends over the years, it's a hard loss and my thoughts are most definitely with you.

[makbike]

Thank you everyone for you kinds words. Yesterday was a very hard day for on top of losing Max we received word at school that one of our colleagues in the district who had been battling cancer had passed away. I decided to go for a ride after I finished closing out my classroom, got in about 20 miles and it did seem to chase some of the blues away , albeit only temporarily. I woke up feeling very sad this morning so I guess I'll climb on my bike and ride some more.

Max was indeed a very special cat. He came to me when he was only 3 weeks old. He went to school with me every day so that I could bottle feed him. He loved people and thus he became a pet therapy cat here in our community. We would visit the local nursing home and the skilled care unit at our hospital a couple times each month. Max simply loved people. I still have to break the news to his little friend, Sarah. She can't have cats so she adopted Max's and would come over regularly to visit with him. He loved every minute of their time together.

Thanks again for all your kind words. I know some think I'm silly to get so upset about losing Max, for in their words he was only a cat. However, in my world he was much more then that, he was a friend who loved everyone he met. His unconditional love touched so many lives and made each one a little better for having met him.

[wavedancer]

Many blessings to you, for the gift of love you and Max shared and for the gift of freedom you gave to him. May the memory of his soft furriness stay with you and give you comfort. And I hope the joy of your new bike will help you feel the freedom that you helped him have.

Hugs from afar,

Linda