I had to put my sweetheart hospice foster to sleep today (one big pic).

[spooky3]

Goodbye, honey. We loved you so much.

[IMG][/IMG]

[roody]

1. So sorry. Love those fosters.

[Irishonly]

2. I am so sorry

I believe in the Rainbow Bridge.

[spooky3]

3. thanks, roody and Irishonly.

[phylny]

4. I'm sorry for your loss.

Bless you for taking care of this beautiful animal.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I am sorry to hear this.

Beautiful cat. I know how hard it is. Thanks for the picture, and for caring.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Fosters like you are very special. Hospice fosters are an order of magnitude more special.

[spooky3]

7. Thanks to all. He lived almost 2 years after we got him, with two chronic and fatal conditions.

He gave back so much and was generally a really happy and active little guy until very near the end.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. What a pretty cat. I'm sorry he's gone..

[CountAllVotes]

9. .

[meti57b]

10. I am so sorry for your loss.

That is a wonderful picture!!

[TorchTheWitch]

11. I'm so terribly sorry

I don't know how you do it. I could never take in a sick animal knowing it wasn't going to last long and knowing I'd fall in love with it. Bless you for being able to handle that.

[spooky3]

12. thanks to all. TorchTheWitch, I know people who have 6-8 hospice fosters in their tiny little apts.

and homes at any time, even though they work full time. They spend a lot of time in care giving and comforting, then grieve losses constantly. Those people are truly amazing and they are desperately needed for rescues for whom this might be the only time in their life that anyone was truly loving toward them.

This beautiful boy was a case of love at first sight, and the former foster caregiver was so distressed that she could no longer care for him, that it was easy for me to decide to do it, but extremely hard to let him go. Shortly before we took him in, we had also lost a beloved long time pet after he was diagnosed with untreatable oral cancer. So some of the motivation for me was that it felt like I couldn't do anything for my pet, but I could help another animal (who happened to resemble my late pet), so it felt like I was helping them both.

And as I said, he gave back so much, like they all do.

So it was as much selfish as altruistic, even though there is a lot of pain right now.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. I consider you and all the others angels

Taking on that burden and the personal suffering both during their care and after they pass is just heroic to me. I don't think there was a single bit of selfishness in what you did... it was fate or God or some stars lining up in a particular way or SOMETHING that brought you and this poor fuzzy dear together. Hell, maybe it was even your lost previous pet that led the two of you together to help to heal any guilt or pain in you because you weren't able to help them. I'll never believe that there was a single molecule of selfishness involved. Nope.

And damn me, I seem to have gotten something in my eye...

[spooky3]

14. thank you, dear heart