Days 184-185: Goodbye, Sweet Friend

This weekend was a tough one. We had to say goodbye to our sweet Tumbler:

We've know for the better part of the year that her kidneys were not in great shape. She was 18, and her poor little paws had arthritis. But...she happy and comfortable and ours. We've been loving her and indulging her a bit more. She started getting wet food on demand every morning, and she would scream until she got it.

Laps were her for the taking, and Brad learned to work with her curled in his lap:

The mask basket became an extra snuggly bed:

She was still as flexible and tumble-y as ever:

She and Frosty would still curl up:

But...she has been slowing down. She hadn't been upstairs in week. And this weekend, the moment we knew would come did. Saturday morning, she climbed in my lap, but when I tried to pet her she screamed; she did the same to Brad later. We watched her get in and out of the little box with no success. We found blood near her food dish, and then she did it in front of us on the floor. It was time.

The rule at our house is we will never let our fur babies suffer or put them through invasive treatments to buy time. We knew we had to say goodbye. She let us hold her one last time, and we sent her to snuggle Nuzzle again.

It's so hard, and it still hurts. The mornings are too quiet without her screaming, and I keep waiting for her to climb in my lap. Tumbler brought us so much laughter and love, and we will be forever grateful she was ours for so long. Goodbye, sweet friend...it still wasn't long enough.