Jack

Sept-?-2004 to Oct.-09-2005
A True Friend to the Residents and Staff of
Meadows Courtyard

Jack, a black and white shorthair, was brought to the Assisted Living facility in Sept. of 2004 with his Sister Jill, a long hair calico, to raise the spirits of the residents when one of the "house" cats had to be put down due to age and health.

With his sister, this kitten, with his green eyes and seemingly endless energy was a delight, and great comfort to the residents, and the staff. At bedtime he would sleep on whoevers bed was nearest, preferring the ones with the softest quilts.

At Christmas time, the tree in the lobby was fair game. Many was the ornament that met it's demise at his paws by being batted off the tree, then around the lobby and hallways until it would break. His antics were never frowned upon by the administration as the residents took great joy in watching his escapades. He would often get on the desks, and promptly scatter paperwork and decorations all over the room. Many was the time that after this exhausting activity he could be found curled up, sleeping with his sister on the pool table.

In the spring and summer, he to go out and play and explore. Often chasing bugs, chasing the hose when a resident would be watering plants, or just curled up soaking in the sun.

We may never know what prompted him to wander so far from home, having been altered it was thought that he wouldn't drift too far away. He would occasionally play in the parking area outside the doors, and many residents said he loved to explore. Many was the night that I'd let him out the back door to the courtyard and he'd stop, look back, meow once, then trot off as fast as he could on whatever mission he had for the night.

Now, when I look at Jill, I still see a bit of Jack through her eyes. She had taught him so much, including where, and how high to jump to trigger the automatic doors so they could go out and play at will. On that last fatefull night, when he opened  the door to go play, he also triggered the sutomatic doors To the Rainbow Bridge. He was found the following morning, having been struck down by a car two blocks from home.

For such a short life, his world was a never ending cycle of boundless energy, touching countless hearts and transfering some little bit of that energy on to everyone he met. A brief but beautiful life, not wasted, yet cut far shorter than we will ever think it should have been. Perhaps he was intended for a greater mission, maybe his endless reserves of energy, joy, and love were needed at the bridge to greet or help with the sudden and unexpected arrival of so many fur-friends at the bridge in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, and Rita. We will never know for sure why he was sent on to the bridge so young, not until the day that it is the time of each of us whos lives he touched to cross over, and he again triggers the doors for each of us one last time.

Jack, you will always be in our hearts as a true friend. We all love you and we look forward to the day when we each meet you again at the bridge.

On behalf of the residents and staff of Meadows Courtyard, we bid you farewell our dear Jack, but not goodbye.
Christine Goltz
Ron Riekens II
Jill
Oregon City, OR

Sage

??-2003 to August 3, 2006

My handsome baby.....I adopted him February 3rd 2006 from the Springfield Humane Society. I have Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, Panic Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder.....it was recommended to me during one of my hospitalizations that I get a pet again to keep me company and ease the lonliness, so with a doctor's note I was allowed to adopt Sage even though the landlord doesn't usually allow pets. 

When I adopted Sage, I was told he was a female....the staff had named him "Pretty". I changed it to Kiara, but after a couple weeks, when "she" was taken to get spayed, the vet said I had a neutered male. Poor guy!!!
Sage was so very loving and gentle....he almost always came to bed with me....he would lie down next to me and sleep until I was almost asleep, and then would get down and go do his thing. Something special between us was his habit of deciding whether or not he'd had enough attention and pettings...if he felt he hadn't when I stopped, he would reach out to me and pat my face with his paw until I started petting again. He followed me from room to room always...if I went to the bathroom, so did he!

He wasn't much of a purrer, and I only saw him play a few times during the 6 months I had him, but I knew he loved me and he kept the depressions and the lonely emptiness from being so hard to bear. He liked to get on the computer desk and sleep with his head on my hand on top of my mouse, which made it kinda hard to use, but it was sort of cute too.

It was around the beginning of July when I first noticed he seemed a little thinner and his appetite was down. Over the next few weeks he lost a lot of weight, hardly eating at all. I took him to one vet who didn't do much of an exam...took Sage's temperature and listened to his heart and lungs and diagnosed him with pneumonia in both lungs...gave him fluids under the skin for dehydration, a shot of penicillin, and a shot of steroids.Gave me amoxicillin drops to give every morning and night, and told me to bring him back in 3 days. Sage could hardly walk that night, and I was scared...when I called the emergency vet I was told it was probably from all the fluids. When I took Sage back that Thursday, the vet said his fever was gone, his lungs were clearing, and he would be fine...just that it would be a long, slow recovery.
But Sage continued to lose weight, and when my mother came to visit the following Thursday we took him to the vet in town. When they weighed him, he was only 6 1/2 pounds, not good for a cat who was around 3 years old. Within moments of beginning a complete exam, this vet found a mass in Sage's intestines.......cancer. The other vet would have found it had he done a proper exam and actually felt Sage's stomach and all, so Sage suffered for another week and a half unnecessarily. The vet said the tumor was why Sage wasn't eating or drinking enough to keep himself going...that it made him feel full, so he was dehydrated and had a fever again.

Thus I was left with the most painful decision...I had to have him put to sleep......he was starving to death slowly, and I couldn't keep him suffering longer just because I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I wasn't with Sage at the end....I couldn't watch him die. I have guilt over that...I feel like I should have held him as he crossed over, but I was weak...I just couldn't do it. As it was, for a little while I wanted to die too. I'm still having a really hard time.....I miss you so much baby boy.....