Tribute to Blade
-Helen Morrison, Board President
Imagine this. A black male cat, maybe 2 years old, is abandoned in an apartment when the tenants move out. Luckily, there is a lot of trash that he can sustain himself on…and the water faucet is dripping. How long can this go on? Is anyone going to come in to find him?
Luckily within two weeks, the landlord goes in to check on the apartment, finds the cat, contacts us, and we take the cat into our care. We name him Blade.
Blade was a quirky guy, with some behavior and health issues. But he was a personality and he deserved a chance at a good life. He was a challenge at the Shelter, so he went to foster with one of our veteran volunteers, a person experienced in health and behavior issues.. And there, he had a wonderful, loving life. The foster knew just how to incorporate him into her home of other cats and a dog.
-Helen Morrison, Board President
Imagine this. A black male cat, maybe 2 years old, is abandoned in an apartment when the tenants move out. Luckily, there is a lot of trash that he can sustain himself on…and the water faucet is dripping. How long can this go on? Is anyone going to come in to find him?
Luckily within two weeks, the landlord goes in to check on the apartment, finds the cat, contacts us, and we take the cat into our care. We name him Blade.
Blade was a quirky guy, with some behavior and health issues. But he was a personality and he deserved a chance at a good life. He was a challenge at the Shelter, so he went to foster with one of our veteran volunteers, a person experienced in health and behavior issues.. And there, he had a wonderful, loving life. The foster knew just how to incorporate him into her home of other cats and a dog.
But in September of 2023, the foster situation changed. And Blade came to the Shelter, and was settled into our Senior Living Suite. There he had several windows, lots of space, and a cot for visitors to lie down with him. He seemed quite happy…being the center of attention of doting volunteers. He ate well, greeted folks at his door, loved to snuggle and do head butts with his napping companions.
But then we began to notice a change, several weeks before Christmas. He seemed to be laboring to breathe. His appetite decreased. He wasn’t as interested in exploring the back hall, or even greeting people at the door. And so, we needed to do some serious consultation with our vet, Dr. Sally…and find out what was causing this change. She found, with xrays, that Blade had fluid around his lungs…and that there appeared to be a tumor around his heart.
We have all experienced this with our beloved pets, how to decide when the loving and humane thing is to let them go. It can be when we see them definitely struggling and there is no hope of easing that struggle. It can be when we notice that something they absolutely, without fail, love doing, they no longer have interest in. Cats are very good at hiding pain and discomfort. But there are some changes you just don’t want them to have to deal with anymore, and they don’t seem to want to deal anymore, as well. They will look at you in a different way, in a way that seems to say they are ready to move on. It is one of the hardest decisions I know.
We knew that Blade’s time was limited. Volunteers spent lots of time with him. One came in every night to sleep with him. But he was different. He seemed to have decided something. Instead of cuddling on the bed…he went into a cubby with a bed…and curled up there.
So, on Dec. 24, with loving folks around him and his foster holding him, he was helped to move on in his journey. It was very peaceful and loving. And he was buried in Rod’s rose garden, with a beautiful bright red rose planted above him, which will bloom in the Spring.
Why am I telling you about Blade’s journey…at the beginning of a New Year… a time of hope and new beginnings? Because this IS a story of hope and new beginnings.
Blade was so very lucky to be found, he had a good long life with his foster, and he had a loving and peaceful end at the Shelter. I am hopeful that his spirit is free and happy, that perhaps it shares some of the space at the Shelter. Ending the life of a beloved being is always extremely hard…to know when, and to then actually to do it. But as Dr. Sally said to me once, about the ending of the life of a pet, “It is time for his energy to become something else”. I love that…because it helps with the loss, knowing that the energy of this being we cherish will remain around us in some other form…in a rose, in the space around us, in the other beings who share our lives.
That is why I am sharing this tribute to Blade…at the cusp of a New Year…because he had a very good life, well-loved, and is now part of our world in a different way. That feels very hopeful to me.
But then we began to notice a change, several weeks before Christmas. He seemed to be laboring to breathe. His appetite decreased. He wasn’t as interested in exploring the back hall, or even greeting people at the door. And so, we needed to do some serious consultation with our vet, Dr. Sally…and find out what was causing this change. She found, with xrays, that Blade had fluid around his lungs…and that there appeared to be a tumor around his heart.
We have all experienced this with our beloved pets, how to decide when the loving and humane thing is to let them go. It can be when we see them definitely struggling and there is no hope of easing that struggle. It can be when we notice that something they absolutely, without fail, love doing, they no longer have interest in. Cats are very good at hiding pain and discomfort. But there are some changes you just don’t want them to have to deal with anymore, and they don’t seem to want to deal anymore, as well. They will look at you in a different way, in a way that seems to say they are ready to move on. It is one of the hardest decisions I know.
We knew that Blade’s time was limited. Volunteers spent lots of time with him. One came in every night to sleep with him. But he was different. He seemed to have decided something. Instead of cuddling on the bed…he went into a cubby with a bed…and curled up there.
So, on Dec. 24, with loving folks around him and his foster holding him, he was helped to move on in his journey. It was very peaceful and loving. And he was buried in Rod’s rose garden, with a beautiful bright red rose planted above him, which will bloom in the Spring.
Why am I telling you about Blade’s journey…at the beginning of a New Year… a time of hope and new beginnings? Because this IS a story of hope and new beginnings.
Blade was so very lucky to be found, he had a good long life with his foster, and he had a loving and peaceful end at the Shelter. I am hopeful that his spirit is free and happy, that perhaps it shares some of the space at the Shelter. Ending the life of a beloved being is always extremely hard…to know when, and to then actually to do it. But as Dr. Sally said to me once, about the ending of the life of a pet, “It is time for his energy to become something else”. I love that…because it helps with the loss, knowing that the energy of this being we cherish will remain around us in some other form…in a rose, in the space around us, in the other beings who share our lives.
That is why I am sharing this tribute to Blade…at the cusp of a New Year…because he had a very good life, well-loved, and is now part of our world in a different way. That feels very hopeful to me.