Good bye to you...

This is Joe. Or..was. He was our family cat for about 9 months. Not a very flattering pic of him....but its the best I have. Sierra wanted a picture of him & her and when she tried to hold him, he started fighting her hair. So its actually a very 'Joe' type picture.

We had to put Joe down. Meaning.....we killed him. Euthanized is a very soft term to killing your pet. It sounds nice...but it is not. Not in any terms. I know it was the best thing to do, but it doesn't ease the guilt I feel for making the choice. Its not an easy thing to decide to do. Saddly, the Humane Society told us they would have a hard time placing him because he was vicious with kids...and that the majority of people who come in looking to adopt a pet, are looking for a family pet. They said Joe would have sat in a cage for a few months and than would have been put down anyways. I couldn't let him spend the last of his days in a cage. It was too cruel. So we made an appointment for him & told the kids he was adopted by an older couple who had no grandchildren he could hurt. A lie....yes....but better then telling them he died.

Even though I know he attacked & hurt our kids and the neighbourhood kids.....I still miss him. He helped me kill moths, bees, spiders and other bugs. He kept me company in the middle of the night when I was kept up from pregnancy related pains. He had attitude that I admired....he didn't automatically like anyone. He had little quirks about him that I found comical. He dragged clothes & stuff into his litter box when he was upset...he was afraid of the dark and would cry in the basement if there were no lights on for him, we had to invite him to come eat his own food, he opened cupboards and once in them...he could close them as well. He was afraid of the hair dryer and vacuum......but would attack them anyways. He was a very.......different type of cat.

I won't go into his bad side. That doesn't do any good now. He's gone. Its hard enough trying to accept the fact that we did the best we could for him & everyone else.

On Friday, October 3 at 11:30am.....he died.

Rest in peace Joe.