After some time, they went to the shelter once again and picked out Faith. She was smaller and still had claws, but Miss M fell in love. Shortly after they brought Faith home, Trevor showed up at the back door and they've had two cats since.
Not too long ago, the three girls moved in with the Dad and took the cats, but that household has a pit bull that is an indoor dog and Faith was terrified. She wouldn't even come out to eat. The girls are now back in their mother's house with the two cats and have been for several weeks. Trevor was his big "no problem" self, but Faith was terribly thin. We gave her lots of love and food and expected her to bounce back, but after all this time she was just getting worse and worse. She was taken to the vet yesterday to see if this was an inexpensive treatment thing only to find that she had something terribly wrong with her liver. She was put to sleep. Only Mom was there, but she was in tears. The vet wrapped her in a towel and gave her a box to transport her in.
The three of them buried her in the backyard and Papa will help the girls make some kind of marker for her - much sadness for these two little girls.
The girls are coming for dinner tonight and staying overnight. I think we are going to draw and paint Faith. Maybe this will offer a bit of catharsis for them.
I just did a quick sketch this morning, but used a Staedtler liner so the eyes are a bit much. Next time I will sketch her in pencil and then use watercolor or watercolor pencils to add the color. Here is what I have now:
And here is the reference photo provided by the girls:
We'll miss you, Faith.
Today, the hubster has physical therapy followed by a follow-up doctor visit and then the three girls are coming out for dinner and the little ones are staying overnight. My daughter has to be at work at 6 AM tomorrow. Miss M doesn't have preschool tomorrow and Miss P has half a day. I will take her in at 8:30 and pick her up at 11:45. Meanwhile the hubster has the dentist at 11:20 and one of us is scheduled to work at the antique mall in Mason from 2 until 6. Busy, busy, busy.
I guess the house will have to get a reclean in the afternoon after the girls go home and before the pies are made. I may do some of that cleaning today. The hubster is out right now removing the bird feeder from outside the front picture window so that I can clean the window. It is a tad cold to be washing windows outside, but it is a mess. Gotta love those birds, but they make a mess of the window. We may move the feeder further away into the yard.
I hope you are staying warm and are enjoying the build up to the Thanksgiving holiday. The thing I am looking forward besides having lots of family around is the wonderful aromas that will be experienced from Wednesday until we eat on Thursday.
xoxo
That's so sad. The sketch/watercolour will be a lovely way to remember her.
ReplyDeletePoor Faith! I dread the thought of one of our dogs dying. I think we hurt more for the kids hurt than they hurt!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry your family has to go through this. Using art to remember her is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear about Faith,and I know the little girls will miss her. I love the idea of making a memorial for her, and I'm sure both that and the art work you do with the girls will help them heal. hugs and love, nancy
ReplyDeleteAw I'm sorry about Faith. A painting of her would be a wonderful way to remember her
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear of your loss. Here's a link that has helped me a lot to deal with my pet-loss grief: http://www.rainbowbridge.com/Poem.htm
ReplyDeleteJust this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
So, sorry to hear! I know the pain so well. I cat seems fine and then without warning something like Faith's situation occurs. My scare with my Ms Patches a couple of months ok -- OH! I so Thankful! Ms Faith was so adorable. I know she is ok. I really believe they Have Nine Lives. The girls are lucky to have been to share such wonderful life. Welcome home Trevor. All my love to the house holds- I celebrate Ms Faith life with You. His Love.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about Faith. It's been a tough year for us too as we lost Gia, and I know how much pets could truly affect our lives. Our little Meela is getting bigger now, and she likes and will demand to play fetch with you with a piece of balled up paper. She sometimes do behave like a dog despite being really quiet most of the time. And someday we know that she'll get old and it'll be time for her to go. And when that time comes, I will miss all the things I do with her I wouldn't know how to cope really.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about the loss of Faith! We just had a funeral for my 18-year-old cat Whistler a couple of months ago and it's still hard for me to think about him without tearing up, so I've got no trouble relating to the sadness of losing a beloved furry friend.
ReplyDeleteIt's especially hard for children to lose an animal that's been an anchor for them while they've been going through moving and other life changes at such a young age.
Your idea of painting pictures of Faith is a really terrific, insightful one -- a way to let them really acknowledge their sadness and respect that feeling of loss. It's important to let kids take the time to grieve. Sometimes parents just rush out and buy a "replacement" animal, but I think it's a lot of pressure on little ones to expect them to stop grieving and be able to love a new pet immediately. They may realize everyone wants them to stop looking so sad and so they'll do that and smile, but they'll still be missing their friend for a while, so your painting Faith with them is a wonderful way to help them keep her in their hearts a little longer, just like her name implies. Hugs to you too! Sounds like you loved Faith as well. And Happy Thanksgiving -- a good day for counting blessings to balance out the losses. :) XOXO Gillian