How do you say goodbye to someone who has been so faithful and sweet for 18 years of your lives?  Our dear cat, Snowshoe, died today. We loved him so very much.  Linda Rhonstadt sang a song years ago written by Karla Barnoff:  “Goodbye, My Friend”, that touches upon many of my feelings on this day:

Oh we never know where life will take us                                                                                                    
I know it’s just a ride on the wheel
And we never know when death will shake us  
 And we wonder how it will feel        

So goodbye my friend    
I know I’ll never see you (here) again
But the time together through all the years       
Will take away these tears                
It’s okay now
          Goodbye my friend

I’ve seen a lot of things that make me crazy       
And I guess I held on to you
We could’ve run away and left well maybe  
But it wasn’t time and we both knew

So goodbye my friend
I know I’ll never see you (here) again
But the love you gave me through all the years
Will take away these tears
I’m okay now
Goodbye my friend

Life’s so fragile and love’s so pure
We can’t hold on but we try
We watch how quickly it disappears
And we never know why

But I’m okay now
Goodbye my friend
You can go now
Goodbye my friend

I found Snowshoe as a kitten at our local humane society. Someone had loved him, also, as he was inside a pretty cage with toys, etc.
A snowshoe Siamese with beautiful blue eyes; loved to play; loved children; loved being around family; loved lying about on my scrapbooking table, playing with papers, etc.; loved playing with Kramer, the Cockatiel, Molly, Buttons

& Maxwell; loved watching and patting real snow tigers on the television (even looking behind the television for them); loved eating (panicked if his food didn’t totally cover the bottom of the bowl); loved doing “the bug dance” around an intended prey; loved warming himself on the computer wi-fi box; loved roaming under the birdfeeders and irritating his squirrel friends by sitting below them up in the tree; loved being with me; loved climbing up in my lap out on the porch; loved being outside in the yard or garden with me; my friend…….my soulmate……a bright light in my heart. Snowshoe was part of our family….Billy, Brandon, Brett & Leanna loved him, also. His “Mew-Mew”, rubbing his head against us, and his sweetness will always be remembered by all of us.