November 1, 2007

Bad Day

Yesterday I was in LA at the ICANN meeting.  It was Halloween; a day in which symbols of death are everywhere and considered amusing.

Normally I would have stayed, participated, and written about what happened.

But, instead, last night I had to race home.  This morning my wife and I had to make an excruciating choice.  And, as a result, this afternoon a friend died.

My friend is cat, Moliere.  He was almost 11 years old and came down suddenly with renal failure.  We had to decide whether he would live (a short while) or die.

I held and comforted him as the injection was administered.

I felt him die.

He is dead; I am in shock.

At least it was fast - only a few seconds - and it seemed to be painless, rather in contrast to the reported effects of the method used on humans.

Yes, he is a cat, "only" a cat, merely a cat, not a person.  I can only imagine the greater pain of those who have to face such decisions about human friends and loved ones.

So tonight Moliere lies buried between two trees on a small rise above Carbonera Creek in the woods where he so much loved to hunt and be a cat.

He lies buried with a copy of Tennyson's Crossing the Bar.

We miss him.

Posted by karl at November 1, 2007 9:25 PM