By Klew....warning...This story is sad and may be offensive to those who do not share my beliefs.

Havelock, my beloved furbaby of nine years died on Thursday, January 21st. The only solace I can take is that it was sudden and I was with him. For me, this was easier than to see him go through an illness and make the decision to euthanize. The hard part was going through this knowing the tragic outcome.
Needless to say I was hysterical grief stricken. In addition, my own private guilt is that he may have ingested a cleaning agent that I did not rinse.

My friends and family told me that Havelock would have been too smart to continue to drink the poison. I felt they were just telling me that because they love me. However, upon investigation, they may be right! A cat's sense of smell is greater than humans, and the "fumes" should have been repulsive enough to stop any ingestion. Also, some of the symptoms that appear with ingestion of poison did not take place.

To deal with the "what if" factor I turned to my belief that "when it is your time, it is your time".
Havelock would have died on that day....no matter what!! I truly believe it.

Now I am dealing with the grief of missing him! He was very special and very loving! He was beautiful. He was EVERYTHING a furbaby should be. I would post his picture but I would be worthless for the rest of the day. In the future, when the pain subsides, I will memorialize him.

A sense of humor is needed at this time and this is a story that will be remembered! For burial, Havelock was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a cardboard box. His food bowl, his toys, etc. were buried with him. The problem is that he is buried in a shallow grave that the rain pounded on the whole weekend. Because I did not like the thought of him in that rain soaked box, I made the decision to have his body exhumed and have him cremated. It took a long time for his ashes to be ready. When I inquired why it took so long, I was told "He was frozen"! While many may find this morbid, I look at it as closure. In addition, having his ashes with me will provide me with the comfort that I need!

When I first mention this to family and friends, they look at me with visions of Pet Cemetery or Practical Magic!!! The looks on their faces make me laugh!!
Even in death, he brings me laughter!!!!

A more meaningful tribute to follow............................

By Klew

It's really easy to forget about what is happening elsewhere in the world as we look forward to the weekend! Tonight I have plans which include a great play, fine wine and a wonderful man! ( I will discuss "Gamma" in a future blog) I know that once I begin my weekend activities, my mind will NOT be on Haiti or on any other third world issue. But.... at THIS moment in time, right NOW, I can't think of anything but the devastation and carnage.

I have the sincere desire to ask my publisher for a leave of absence in order to join the relief effort in Haiti. But because of my need for instant gratification and being unable to work out the logistics of my desire, a monetary donation is all I can do at this time.

My agency of choice is the American Red Cross. I was trained as a Disaster Relief Volunteer many years ago. I was involved with the ARC when their reputation was tarnished during 9/11. What few people realize is that the only mistake the ARC made at that time was failure to communicate. The disaster relief fund was not set up for just ONE disaster but for EVERY AND ALL disasters. I am very glad that the ARC was able to effectively inform people of their mission and regain their sterling reputation.

SO...at THIS moment, right NOW, I am asking YOU to make a donation to the disaster relief agency of choice to help the Earthquake Relief/Recovery Effort before your wonderful weekend begins.

http://www.redcross.org/