Another goodbye...

With the exception of a few short periods of time, there has always been at least one animal in my home. Mainly dogs--there have been five very special doggies throughout the years--but there's also been a few cats here and there.

Ten years ago, following a year of semi-nomadicness, Sean and I found ourselves back in a position to adopt another pet. Since he was going to be gone at least half the year, the choice of pet was left up to me.

After a few visits to the local ASPCA I kept coming back to one kitty. A 3-year-old black and white short hair. The day we moved into our apartment Sebastian T. Cat moved in with us.

He slept curled up around my head until the day we brought home Jacob...apparently, kitties do not share their humans well with others. But he adjusted to life with not just one short human, but two. One of his favorite nap spots was under Jacob's and then Kyleigh's crib.

We were always made aware of changing temperatures by Sebastian's choice of sleep spots. Winter...on our bed, sometimes under the covers but usually just curled up in a ball at the foot. Summer...at the back door in the sunshine, or in a window if one was open.

Three years ago he was diagnosed with feline diabetes. Twice a day insulin shots and special diabetic management food made a huge differences and we believed he'd hang around a little longer. A couple of months ago we noticed a decline. His medical expenses have never been cheap but with Kyleigh's medical bills rolling in, we were faced with the heartbreaking choice to end his treatments. Over the course of the last several days he has steadily gotten worse. He missed Dakota as we all have. We had already made the appointment at the vet for this morning. Given his demeanor yesterday, I was actually surprised that he made it through the night last night.

This morning we sat down with Jacob and explained that Sebastian wasn't going to be coming back. He understood. There were tears. Sebastian and Dakota have always been a part of his life. It's been a hard week on us all.

I was with him at the end, watching his eyes as the pain left his little body.

Good bye, old friend. You're at peace now.