Saying Good-bye to Shasta

We had to say good-bye to our sweet Shasta today. We had her for 18 years, she was 19 years old. It's so hard to say good-bye especially when you have to make the decision to have them put to sleep. I know it was the right thing to do for her but I feel like a murderer.

 

We have 2 kitty's left, a brother and sister, and they are 19 years old. One is healthy and one has severe arthritis. Although the arthritic kitty is on pain meds and steroids I fear his time is short. Having all our pets so close in age is hard. We didn't think about it when we rescued each one of them.

Comments

[ednjamie@brazoriainet.com]

1.

Oh Sharon, my heart goes out to you. I lost my best friend of 14 years last March-my beloved Cisco, Border Collie/Aussie. He was ill with diabetes for the last several years of his life and we gave him the best care possible, even insulin injections twice a day. I did not have him put down, I just could not bear that burden but I prayed so hard near the end for God to "please take him" as I knew he was so sick. I don't know if I could do it any different if I had the choice once again, but please do not feel like a "murderer" for sparing your precious Shasta any more suffering. Time will help, though never erase the pain.--Jamie

[Suzanne Johnson]

2.

I have been through this twice, Sharon, and completely empathize with you. I know so well the feeling of questioning myself, on the one hand knowing in my head the decision was the best one to make, and feeling on the other hand like I may have betrayed my beloved kitty's trust in me. You are not a murderer, you made a hard, almost impossible, decision to save Shasta from unnecessary additional suffering she would not understand. Without you to love her enough to help her, she would have moved on to awful stages of losing her abilities and she wouldn't have understood. Now, in her eternal peace, I fully believe she is able to understand and she is grateful for the choice you made, and for all the wonderful years of love and care you gave her. This will also be true when the time comes for you other little ones. Our human lives are longer, and that allows us the opportunity to love and care for so many of these sweet creatures who would otherwise not have the happy lives we are able to provide. Our burden is saying goodbye to so many because their time with us is so short, but we are blessed for the time we had and all we gave of ourselves.