Mr. DD said good-night and goodbye to one of his very dear friends tonight. Moe was 14 years old and had been living with feline diabetes for a third of that time. He accepted his twice a day insulin shots with nary a flinch. I never allowed myself to get close to him, literally or figuratively, due to my allergies. But because of my husband's love of his pet, Moe never lacked in attention and play.
The vet came to our house tonight just as I was leaving with X to go grocery shopping. Mr. DD and I agreed that it would probably be best if X wasn't home when the vet put him to sleep. Mr. DD said that the vet first gave him a sedative which acted quickly. It was then followed up by the shot that painlessly put him down. Mr. DD told me that Moe only flinched a little as he started to feel the affects of the sedative, but then that was it. The vet, who has known Moe since he was a kitten expressed to Mr. DD that he had done his best and that considering the prognosis, he did more than most people would do.
Mr. DD is broken right now and when we got home, I found him red-eyed with tissues in his hand. I am surprised how this has saddened me as well. He was a part of our family, and it's hard to say the final goodbye. We haven't told X yet and I know he will be sad about it. Is there ever a good age to explain death, even if it's one's pet? It's one of those lessons he will unfortunately be introduced to more in the future.
Oh, this is such a hard subject. Dotter-S has had to say good-bye to many pet fish. Then this April, she & I flew to TX, b/c my Gpa had a major stroke & was in a coma. After we got there, he passed away. She asked me quietly if we were gonna flush him. She's only two. God bless innocence.
Posted by: Jess | July 03, 2006 at 08:30 PM
I'm sorry about the kitty. Its a sad, but natural, event in life.
Posted by: Kate | July 03, 2006 at 09:41 PM
So sorry to hear of your loss. Pets are family in our home so when I hear of someone loosing a loved family member I hurt just a little too.
I hope your talk with X goes well.
Posted by: Away2me | July 03, 2006 at 10:48 PM
Goodbye, Moe. Hope you have lots of catnip (or bats) in heaven.
Posted by: Julie | July 03, 2006 at 11:54 PM
awwwww, bye Moe. Give my love to the mister.
Posted by: Lala | July 04, 2006 at 03:54 PM
Awwww...sorry for the loss. I've always had pets, so I've been there, unfortunately.
As far as what to say to X, if he's seen Moe sick, it might be somewhat easier to explain that he just got too old and too sick and his body couldn't take it anymore. I'm sure he'll be sad, but kids usually are pretty resilient when it comes to that kind of stuff. Maybe it might even help to tell him that his daddy needs extra hugs and kisses, because Daddy's so sad. (Give him a mission!)
Posted by: Tracy | July 04, 2006 at 04:45 PM
I'm so sorry DD - for all of you.
Posted by: Kellie | July 04, 2006 at 07:13 PM
The first pet I lost was a duckling when I was in first grade. I couldn't speak English very well, and when the teacher asked me what was wrong I told her that I had pain in my heart.
It's still the best way to describe that sadness. I can't imagine giving that news to a child. Good luck.
Posted by: Spanglish | July 04, 2006 at 08:55 PM
I am so sorry... how sad.
Good luck with explaining to X.
Take care
Posted by: soralis | July 04, 2006 at 10:15 PM
How crap.
And how sad.
My love to your family.
Posted by: Meg | July 05, 2006 at 02:21 AM
Oh, how sad.
I hope poor little Moe is keeping Moxie's little Siggy company right now.
Posted by: Molly | July 05, 2006 at 08:32 AM
Poor DD family. Losing a pet is very hard, and explaining it to a small child is even harder. I'm so sorry.
Posted by: Erin | July 05, 2006 at 09:13 AM
Awww, (((Mr. DD))))
You guys have seen too much sadness of late.
I wish you peace, Moe and the rest of the DD family too.
Posted by: Catizhere | July 05, 2006 at 10:33 AM
Sorry about Moe. That's the thing about pets, we can expect to always outlive them. Still sad, though.
Posted by: trisha | July 05, 2006 at 07:41 PM
I am sorry. We just had to put down our beautiful doggie in March. It is still hard for E & I and our kids.
It is hard.
Posted by: Tuesday | July 06, 2006 at 08:21 AM
Bye Moe. He looks to have been a sweetie. It's so sad to lose anyone, human, canine, feline. I'm sorry.
Posted by: beagle | July 08, 2006 at 03:07 PM
I missed this post somehow. I will admit to being preoccupied on July 3.
I am so sorry about Moe, the name of my precious last yellow boy. You all were troopers together and you gave him a good life. Turns out you were more vested than you thought.
My son has understood death for some time. He's sad, but he takes it in stride, too. All normal. The exposure is appropriate and they learn a lot from it. I hope X has gone through the proper stages in the last week. I'm so sorry your husband took it so hard. Tough guys have feelings, too.
Posted by: Cricket | July 12, 2006 at 12:54 AM