Good evening, Perspehonites! Monday is over, and I hope it was a good one for you. I spent it poolside, so I can’t complain. It’s warm, sunny, and pretty much perfect where I am this week, so I can’t complain about the weather. Gas prices are cheaper here, so there’s no bitching about that either. In honor of all that is good and positive, here’s a little song that’s been playing on my internal soundtrack. How was your Monday?
10 replies on “Monday Night Open Thread”
So ladies. I really want a pair of wooden heel clogs. My step mom wore them growing up, and they just look so effortlessly boho and casual! Problem is, it works great with my step mom’s petite frame and size 6 feet. I, on the other hand, am an athletic 5’8″, wear a size 9, and am afraid of resembling a Clydesdale with those puppies on my feet. Do any of you wear clogs? Recommendations for or against? I’d love some input here before I make a potentially expensive and disastrous investment!
We’re managing to rain here, at a point when i had thought i could brave the warmer weather in a dress. Alas. Cute Hunter wellies to the rescue? My Monday became (yes, this does relate back to aforementioned dress) sucky when i realised how … nervous (?!) i felt about wearing a dress. I want to! I know my dresses are pretty! I know my size shouldn’t bother me! But something is holding me back nonetheless. Boo. My Monday also brought an old blog of mine back to mind, twelve posts over two years – is it worth carrying on? Not so sure. Bah humbug (it is okay to say that outside of December, right?).
Rock on soggy Tuesday.
has anyone been following the story of Rita Chretien, the Canadian woman who survived 7 weeks before she was found in Nevada? it’s truly an amazing story. Rita is my best friend’s aunt, and her husband Albert owned a business for 20 years with my Grandpa (my mom used to babysit the Chretiens’ sons). I still can’t comprehend her strength. tonight I read an article that interviewed the three hunters who discovered Rita, and just broke down.
Albert still has not been found, and the outlook is not very positive. but Rita’s story of patience and strength in the situation in which she found herself is inspiring, truly.
Oh, Persephone…
Today I made the decision to euthanize my cat. I feel very strongly about using the word ‘euthanize.’ I didn’t “put her down” as that phrasing all ways makes me think of horrible ways people end their pets lives. On the other hand….I didn’t just ‘put her to sleep.’ I made the decision to end another creature’s life. The vet handed me a list of things they could do for Scully, a list of tests the vet wanted to run. I wanted to hand over my mom’s credit card, and run every test. But the reality was that money…we don’t have alot of money. And the best case scenario was getting Scully back to the condition she was three days ago, and I made the decision that she deserved a better slandered of life, and there was no guarantee that any amount of money could provide that for her.
So I euthanized her.
I feel guilty, and I feel….numb, mostly. I feel like I shouldn’t have hesitated to hand over the card. To say whatever it takes. As silly as it is, I feel like the vet was judging me, and I feel….I wish she would have presented this option to me, with out me having to bring it up. But mostly, I feel relief, that I don’t have to worry for Scully anymore. Her mind was there, but her poor little body was broken.
So tonight I’m drinking drinks in her honor, and ordering her favorite food (pepperoni.) And if anyone of you have had to make this choice, where there were still a few options available to buy a little time, please, please share them. (And on the flip side, if you have any ridiculously awesome stories or pictures of adorableness, share as well. Kitties and puppies are to adorable to make me feel bad.)
(…thankyou.)
I had to put down ( I have a hard time with “euthanized” ) my 10 year old golden retriever right before I left for college. He was old and achy, and his body just wasn’t keeping up. He had kidney issues and couldn’t eat very well any more. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. But I know I did the right thing. He was in pain. His quality of life was beyond the tolerable point, and I couldn’t let him continue on in such pain. I could have paid to put him on dialysis and continued to scramble eggs and a vitamin powder to them everyday, but I knew in the end it was only a matter of time. The day his rich, regal bark became I weak, meek chirp was the day I decided he had had enough, and it was time for me to stop being selfish and let him go.
Having to make that decision sucks royally, and I’m sorry you’ve had to make it. But if it’s any consolation, I think you did the right thing. And the vet probably wasn’t judging you as much as you think. They understand cost issues as well as animal love. So don’t worry, and just be grateful for the time you had with your darling.
…oh veruna…thank you. I couldn’t have asked for a better reply…I’m so sorry about your boy. But I’m so glad you too knew it was over when he lost his bark. Scully had the best purr, every time you touched her. She had a happy purr, and a get-the-fuck-Off-Of-Me-NOW purr, that I hadn’t hear in two days. When she started purring as they injected her….well…it meant alot.
I’m so so sorry. I had to say goodbye to one of my cats a couple of years ago after she got in a really bad accident, but I know that she was in a lot of pain and that it really was for the best. I’m sure it was for the best for your kitty too.
<3 <3 <3
Internet hugs. :( A couple of years ago my family made the decision to put our beloved Boxer to sleep. (Isn’t it funny how we have our preferred way of saying it? I prefer that “put to sleep” in this instance because Diesel was very very sick and lived in a lot of pain, and I like to think of his death as his rest after all that.) Diesel was rescued, and apparently, at some point in the nine months before we got him, he had suffered some kind of trauma to the back of his head that damaged his skull. When his skull healed, it didn’t heal correctly and eventually began pressing down on his spinal cord. This is actually a theory, and it’s one that never came up until almost the end. He had started having seizures and for the next nine months, he had x-rays, MRIs, spinal taps, IVs, heart monitors, you name it. It was awful. A couple times we had to leave him at the vet’s office over night and it was the worst thing. My parents and I just cried all night. Oh god, it was awful. No one could find the source of the problem, even though we got second, third, fourth, fifth opinions. Finally he couldn’t walk anymore and we were out of options and it was clear he was just in too much pain. So we all went together and sat on the floor of the exam room and waited while they administered the shots. My dad cried, my mom cried, I cried. We watched his eyes close and then he was very very very quiet and I think all at the same time we had the same thought: “we should have done more.”
Of course there was nothing more to do. At some point, you run out of options. Yes, we could have spent $60k (for reals) on a surgery that MIGHT have a 40% chance of fixing the problem IF the skull was the problem, but that was just a theory and we would have no way of knowing. For my dad, it was that he couldn’t put Diesel through any more tests or exams or over night vet stays. Looking back, I regret those nights he had to stay – what he must have thought, that we abandoned him – and we could have had just that one more night with him.
In the end, we know we did absolutely the best we could for him, and that’s all anyone can ask. You can’t do everything. You do your best. Your cat knew that, and I’m sure your vet knew that too.
I know it’s so sad right now. For MONTHS I thought I saw Diesel walking down the hallway, or I would feel like he would be behind me when I had my back turned. I cried myself to sleep for a long time. This is totally lame, but I hope all of our sick animals who had to move on are playing and having a blast together. And I hope you feel better soon! Maybe consider volunteering at an animal shelter, once you’re feeling more up to it.
Oh, and my little Corgi/Chihuahua Mulder sends his condolences, too. Any cat named Scully is a friend.
Oh you poor thing. But you made an unselfish decision, kittycat isn’t suffering right now any more.
Scully is in cat-heaven right now, frolicking around and purring like a little mad woman. The itty bitty kitty commitee is here for you.
[img]http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/funny-pictures-itty-bitty-sleepy-committee.jpg[/img]
Our family has been there too, most recently my parents had to put down (i’m in the put down or put to sleep camp, too) the family cat. Euthanize isn’t how i’ve thought of it before but i’d say it’s what they did for our kitten-cat (yes, he was fifteen but he was always and will forever, be known by his nickname of kitten-cat). They could potentially have bought him more time, but that would have meant to forfeit of dignity and comfort. In his case, at least. I think we often fall back on lack of money as a reason, perhaps because it’s more tangible than lack of comfort? I don’t know.
On the awesome side, another cat soon came into our lives. He’s a three-legged rescue cat who is currently fighting Decepticons and toy soldiers with our pre-schooler. Current allegiances point to three-legged and Decepticon against pre-schooler and toy soldiers.