Thursday, June 9, 2011

Skipper is Gone

Just a generic black cat
June 9, 2011-We don't know what Skipper looked like, except that he had long black hair. We do know he was just a baby...6 years old. His momma loved him; he had been to the vet annually for an exam and shots. Although never the same vet.

But mom got sick with her own diabetes, had to lose her foot to the disease, and is now in a nursing home. Mom and her sister tried many things to find a home for Skipper, but none was found.

DCIN found out about Skipper yesterday when the sister made an appointment with a vet that had never before seen Skipper. The appointment was to destroy him. Not euthanasia--ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. They were killing him because there was no longer a place for him.

We were so close. The vet with which the sister had scheduled Skipper's last day refused to medically board him until Saturday. That vet knew nothing of his condition. All the sister had to do was drive Skipper across town. Take him to his regular vet. The folks at his regular vet were waiting for him. I had talked to the tech and the vet, three times we spoke.

Enough, the sister said. She had gone far enough on this journey with Skipper. She could not go the few extra miles to put him into a safe place where we could retrieve him. Uncle Don in Virginia was ready to foster this boy and nurse him back to health. We knew something was wrong with him being 6 years old and on 14U insulin twice a day. Diet, appropriate insulin management with hometesting. That's all skipper needed.

And a lap to sit on. The sister said that Skipper was a people cat. He liked to sit on a lap and be petted.

That's all he wanted. A lap and some petting.

Damn, we were so close.

I know the sister will read this. I told her how to find DCIN. My tears come because I am tired. I was only dozing during the night, keeping myself alert in case there was a phone call about Skipper.  I feared this end, but I also prepared myself for it. Fly free, baby. There are so many people who can feel your fur as you sit on their laps humming your joyful purr. Long and silky, your fur is. Rest now, baby. No one will ever dispose of you again.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How heartless can you be to let an animal die who was so close to being helped? I'm sad and angry at the same time. Skipper could have had a wonderful life with just a small amount more of effort, instead he dies because someone doesn't want to be inconvenienced any further. I'm sorry, sweet kitty. : (

mdrobins said...

Heartless, cruel and unusual. Nothing was required except a drive across town, and then the inconvenient life of that innocent cat would have been spared. Some people show their colors. The poor sister that inconveniently lost her foot has been dumped in a home by that "sister" of hers.

Stefani said...

I love black cats. When I become ill or die, I certainly hope any close to me -- family or friends -- understands the the way they can best show love for or respect for me is to take care of the beings I adore in this world -- my cats. Any family member or friend who would have my cats killed or leave them to a fate unknown was never family nor friend to begin with. I hope this woman leaves her sister not a penny, and haunts her from beyond, causing her to lose the things she most loves in the world.