Crossing the Bridge

This has been a very rough month for the pets in our family's life.

It all started four weeks ago today, when our beloved cat Chester went out and never came back.  I'm very much afraid I will never know what happened to him.  I still startle at what I think are glimpses of kitty in the corner of my eye--but they are the staircase, or a squirrel, or the increasingly brazen rabbit who doesn't seem to think our beagle barking is any threat to him at all.  I desperately miss my kitty.  He was--and I am officially moving to "was" here, because unless some kind stranger took him in and has not brought him to a vet or shelter yet (and he has a microchip, so if he ends up in a shelter or at a vet, I will find him), he must have been killed by the local fox or the local fisher cats or something--a Very Nice Cat.  He was loving and cuddly and sweet, and he never ate my yarn unless I was using it, and he made an awesome foot warmer.  Our not quite two years together were incredibly wonderful and I am sad.

Chester: Scourge of Chipmunks and Lover of Yarn
Sitting on a boy's feet.

Then, as we were searching for Chester, our neighbor put down her dear Corgi Georgie, and since then she has also put down Corgi Dana.  They were elderly and both were having many difficulties, but Ian misses barking at them across the intervening yard and the world is just a little less bright for four fewer Big Pointy Ears.

And then my friend Trisha's Corgi Tryst crossed the bridge, with his loving family's help.  Tryst the brave, Tryst the agile, Tryst the Eater of All Things, and especially the Things that are PEACHES.  I never met Tryst in real life, but he was an active part of my Virtual Life.  His brother Radar misses him, and so does his Wee human sister.  Ian misses his pen pal (you didn't know a beagle could have a pen pal, did you? but they wrote back and forth several times).

This morning I woke to the news that my brother has lost his dog Sasha to the Rainbow Bridge.  I still do not know details about what happened; Sasha was a huge part of his life for many years and a very faithful companion.  I shall always remember her wedging herself into bed between Tom and me, taking us for a Very Fast Walk in Estes Park, and being the most enthusiastic Flower Girl of all time at Evan's wedding.  Oh, bestest of Big Black Exuberant Puppies, may you find holes to dig and countless belly rubs on the other side.

Sasha, Queen of Exuberance and Mistress of the Automobile

I have been blessed by many many wonderful animals in my life.  Ian the Eager Beagle is as loyal and opinionated as anyone could ask in a dog; Emrys and Guinness and Mariah and Oscar were all blessed and loving beasts.  Flower and Duke, the guinea pigs, squeal and purr and tolerate us even though we don't clean their cages often enough, and even the silly frog has managed to stick with us.  Today I'm thinking about all the wonderful animals that have graced my life and the lives of the people I love.  Belly rubs and scritches for all!

Edited to add:  I talked to my brother, and Sasha's life ended very suddenly and without warning.  She had had a couple of UTIs/kidney problems, and these seem to be connected.  There is a slim chance that Sasha somehow ate rat poison; the symptoms are consistent.  If this is true, then there's concern for his other, much younger dog, Sushi, though she hasn't yet shown symptoms.  My candle is burning for my brother and his wonderful pets.