Satchmo was always curious, and always had to be where he wasn't supposed to be. Unfortunately, he was fascinated with the dryer. We had both pulled him out of the dryer many times, but he was very fast. You could pull him out and swat him, and before you could close the door he'd be back in there. Well, one night he jumped in and I didn't see him, so the dryer was turned on. I heard a thump, like a shoe in the dryer, and realized what had happened right away. I pulled him out, but he'd already been hurt. He had blood on his mouth and wasn't breathing well. I screamed for Casey. He held him and dripped water in his mouth, we ran out to the car and took off for the Emergency Animal Clinic. Satch stopped bratheing in the car and I gave him mouth-to-mouth. His chest rose once, but not a second time. I tried to do CPR on him, but he was gone. Casey drove us home and we each held him and cried and cried. Casey brought the soft blue blanket he's slept on when we first brought him home and wrapped him in that. The next morning, Casey drove him to his parent's (Momaw and Popaw) where he was buried in the family plot with all of the other furbabies the family has lost. What Happened?
The Tragedy
We kept the stuffed animal (Bear) that he's slept with as a baby and stopped the clock he'd slept with (Ticky-Tick) at 8:30, the time of his death.
The night after that I put a memorial up for him at PetLoss.com, and we participated in the Candle Ceremony the following Monday.
We called "Auntie" Suzanne and "Uncle" Fred, and e-mailed "Auntie" Dannell and some other friends. Thursday, August 9th, this happened to Casey -
I received this today, just moments after I found a butterfly outside that crawled up onto my leg. Make of it what you will. It made me feel better. - CaseSatchmo's Baba, a Four Paws© Pet Nurser, has the picture of a butterfly printed on it, as well.William Wheeler wrote:
"The man whispered, "God, speak to me" and a meadowlark sang.
But, the man did not hear.So the man yelled "God, speak to me" And, the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen.The man looked around and said, "God let me see you." And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not see.And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle" And, a life was born.
But, the man did not notice.(>I<) (>I<) (>I<) (>I<)
So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here". Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on."
(>I<) (>I<) (>I<) (>I<)I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted, even in our electronic age . . . so I would like to add one more:
The man cried "God, I need your help" . . . and an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement.
But the man deleted it and continued crying . . .Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect.
My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you, Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.
Expect the unexpected...........Have A Happy DayOn the same day it was suggested to me and to Casey, by different people that we should get another kitten. We both had the same reaction, we wanted to, but didn't know how the other would feel. We decided to look into it, and if any kittens were available, then Satch wanted us to have them, and if there weren't any, he didn't. We decided that if possible we'd like two boys. Our first lead fell through, but Case was told about a lady who rescues abandoned cats. So we called and she had two boys that she had been having a hard time placing, because they were shy. They were just a month younger than our Satchmo, born April 22nd, 2001. Well, obviously those were our boys! We said we'd take them. So we went up to get them and while we were there, in the cage next to our twins, was a little white kitten with black markings. Meowed at us and I put my hand in his cage. We talked about getting him too, for Felicity. He was very outgoing and he charmed us immediately. We couldn't afford him though, each kitten cost $25.00, to cover the costs of food and shots. Then, he started biting my fingers, just like Satchmo had, and I told Casey we had to take him. The lady was very understanding and let us post date a check for her, and we brought our new boys home.
We still miss Satch, of course, but having the new babies in the house helps.
We gave each of them one of Satchmo's names: Shaman Satchmo Blair, Impulse Bartholomew Allen, and Ranger Sparks Ellison.
And we are trying to work through our grief as best we can.
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