Goodbye Ol' Friend

Fourteen and half years ago, my great-grandmother gave Sammy to my Mama DeLay. He was still a kitten at that time, his 6 toes on his front paws, and little short tail. My great-grandmother was very sick and told my Mama she would need him after she was gone.

He was a crazy cat, my dad would get him all worked up on Christmas Eve during our dinners, while Ray and me were always kinda nervous around him, 'cause you never knew when he would attack lol. We were just talking this past Christmas how much he had changed, even this summer when we would go up he would want up on my lap and just nap the hours away. He will be missed by us all.

After I came home from WV he started to go down hill, they noticed he had lost a tooth and figured that is why he wouldn't eat. However, his eye then became swollen and so they took him to the vet to see what was going on. They found out that it was cancer, his throat was pretty swollen and that is why he wasn't eating. The cancer also is what caused his tooth to fall out, so they had to put him sleep.

Mama and Papa DeLay are having a hard time and I figure for Mama it is also bringing up a lot of feelings from 14 yrs ago. I'll try to call her this weekend, when I know I can talk to her without crying.

Goodbye dear ol' friend, you brought a lot of happiness, laughter, and joy to those who loved you.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...