Trouble

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale


Thats such a positive statement, one I have to reaffirm every day.  Its such a struggle to get out there, but once I do, it goes along until I am done.  Its going to be very hard this winter.  I also have not seen baby Rufus in days now.  His Mamma, Emma, waits each morning for me, but where is Rufus.  Rufus is the brother of the two sisters I rescued weeks ago, JuJu and Nikki.  He was the one that got away, or shall I say, I could not catch.  He has been missing for days now.  I hope he is OK, or that it was a painless ending for him.  I also look at my own cats at home.  Trouble, who is diabetic and its been pretty uncontrolled for years now, and she is suffering the ravages of it.  She is a good girl who was left behind after her 'owners' left her, just a block away from my house, and one day after letting her into my home, I looked behind my couch and thought I saw her with a mouse.  Turned out it was a newborn baby she just had!  I was shocked, never knowing she was pregnant!
 
Most of us have experienced the sadness and pain of watching an animal we love start to go downhill. For some it may happen very quickly, and for others it could be an illness spanning months, maybe years. There may come a point where we have to make one of the most difficult decisions of our lives: whether to euthanize our baby, or let nature take its course and hope that the end comes quickly and without prolonged suffering.

The decision to let your animal die, or to let him or her live and suffer, is a heavy burden to bear, but one I believe we all accept when we agree to care for an animal. We are lucky that we have animals in our lives. I never take for granted that I share my life with my DOG Thunder and my many cats, and I am always in awe of them and happy to share what I have with them. I believe that we make a pact with an animal the moment we decide to care for him or her. We agree to offer food and water, provide comfortable living conditions, and care for them in sickness and in health. We have a duty to prevent them from suffering.

Anybody who has had to make the decision is familiar with the emotions that follow euthanasia, the most common one being guilt. To choose to end a life has often left me feeling like I have betrayed my companion. Guilt is a normal feeling, and its always difficult to accept the decision to end a life.
But part of loving someone is the obligation to help when things get hard.  So I hope my baby Trouble will let me know when its her time.

Sorry, got off on a rant there - it was quiet, yet windy this morning, all the babies were out waiting for me.  Supoposed to storm later today and tonight.  I must find them shelter.  I must find Allie a home, he is such a good boy.  I must get more shelters to put up for the upcoming days.