Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Come on, man.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

In my day, never was longer.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

So many bastards, so little time.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / RIP, Speak

RIP, Speak

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My brother had to have his cat put down. He couldn’t take watching him suffer, and he was only about 5 and a 1/2 lbs and completely jaundiced and miserable.

We’re burying him in the backyard of my parents house which is basically a beautiful garden on top of a pet cemetery.

Reader Interactions

69Comments

  2. 2.

    Gex

    RIP Speak. And hugs and love to your brother who loved him and provided for him all these years.

  6. 6.

    gogol's wife

    I’m sorry. It’s so hard. I’m still mourning Masha (also cancer, she also got emaciated, she was only ten), and it’s been since April 2012.

  7. 7.

    SFAW

    John –
    Sorry to hear about this, it’s always tough to lose a pet you love.

    Best wishes to your brother.

  10. 10.

    Mj_Oregon

    I’m mourning two kitties lost in the past two months. It’s always so hard to let them go but at the end, the most loving thing we do is ease their way. My condolences to you and your brother.

  11. 11.

    MattR

    So sorry to hear that. The only comfort I can offer to your brother is that saying goodbye and alleviating Speak’s suffering was the last meaningful demostration of love he could provide. I hope I have that ability to give Ellie a similar proper ending when the time comes instead of keeping her alive and in pain because I cannot bear to part with her.

  13. 13.

    max

    Condolences to your brother (and you).

    max
    [‘One of my dogs is getting quite elderly.’]

  14. 14.

    cckids

    So sorry; condolences to your brother & all of you. You’re a rare & wonderful family who care so much for each other’s pets. Take care.

  16. 16.

    ? Martin

    The most important thing you can do as a pet owner is ensure they don’t suffer, even when it pains you to lose them. It was the right call.

  19. 19.

    raven

    We who choose to surround ourselves
    with lives even more temporary than our
    own, live within a fragile circle;
    easily and often breached.
    Unable to accept its awful gaps,
    we would still live no other way.
    We cherish memory as the only
    certain immortality, never fully
    understanding the necessary plan.
    — Irving Townsend

  21. 21.

    agrippa

    I feel for you. I am sorry. I know how you feel as
    my cat died at home Jan 29. he is buried at home. he was almost 16.

  22. 22.

    quannlace

    I’m so sorry, John. Your brother did the best he could for his friend.
    One thing you can do is squelch anyguilt he may feel afterward. Having gone thru it a few times myself , you always feel ‘I waited too long’ and ‘I did it too soon,’ all at the same time.

  24. 24.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    My heart goes out to your brother at the loss of Speak. The worst part is that you keep seeing a lost pet out of the corner of your eye for days, weeks, after they’re gone.

  25. 25.

    Big R

    My thoughts go out to you and your family today.

    I can’t wait until Cole gets back to calling us “fucking twats” again, because it means the mourning will have passed.

  27. 27.

    Kerr Lockhart

    Every time we decide to take responsibility for the life of another we open ourselves up to limitless joy and unspeakable pain. I suppose when we are extinct we will be referred to as The Species That Was Completely And Unashamedly Mad.

  29. 29.

    JPL

    That is so sad. Hugs. Where I live in GA, the land of freedom, you can’t bury your pets in your yard.

  35. 35.

    Alison

    @quannlace:

    you always feel ‘I waited too long’ and ‘I did it too soon,’ all at the same time.

    Yes. So true. And so cruel. :( [ETA – that’s not to say you, quannlace, are cruel, but that the inevitable occurrence of this concept is.]

    Very sorry for the loss, JC. My thoughts are with them.

  37. 37.

    Comrade Mary

    So, so sorry. And your brother is a brave and generous man to move as soon as he saw what needed to be done. It’s the last good gift we can give any pet.

  38. 38.

    Sam

    I’m so sorry. As a pet owner myself this is so hard, but at the end it’s what we have to do.

    I’m going to go hug my little critters for a bit.

  39. 39.

    Hawes

    That’s always so rough. Watching my last two dogs go easy into that good night, it’s almost like their last gift they give you is that of overwhelming grief. Complete, shuddering, mind emptying grief.

  40. 40.

    Poopyman

    Sorry for the pain Squeak suffered in life and his family suffers at his loss. He’s beyond it now and left a loving family. And your brother gave him his forever home.

    Mourn well.

  41. 41.

    Ruckus

    John
    I wish that I could provide the same level of companionship to someone that our pets do for us. The grief at their loss is a small price to pay for that companionship. They focus us and give us a respite from bad days. They make life better. The least we can do is give them a better life as well. Your brother did, you still are. That’s all there is. And it is enough.

  42. 42.

    wmd

    Best wishes to Whisper, Speak’s sister and companion. I suspect she will miss him too.

    RIP Speak.

  44. 44.

    dance around in your bones

    Speak shall speak no more. I’m glad he had a human who cared for him so lovingly, enough to put him out of his misery in a humane and peaceful way. And I think it’s great that you all can bury him in the backyard….I’ve never understood the regulations against it. We personally buried all our cats and dogs (except for the one who just disappeared, never to be seen again) and it’s a kind of comfort to know where their final ‘resting spot’ is, complete with favorite toys and blankets.

    My eyes are leaking a bit now.

  45. 45.

    geg6

    So sorry about Speak. Give your brother my sympathy. Such a tough thing to do. We have two cairns on the property that speak eloquently to me about the pain that decision brings. We love our pets so much and they bring such joy to our lives that it is a terrible thing to remember that we almost always outlive them. The comfort comes from ending their pain with love and remembering them forever afterward.

    And now Otis and Koda are going to get a great big hug.

  46. 46.

    FlipYrWhig

    @dance around in your bones: We have a corner of our yard where our last two are buried. I still feel bad for them when it rains.

    Speak sounded like a fine beast. Regrets and best hopeful wishes to all he touched.

  47. 47.

    dance around in your bones

    @FlipYrWhig: We even buried a couple of neighbor’s dogs in our backyard in Mexico (luckily there they are pretty copacetic about stuff like that).

    I still remember the day that I saw my neighbor – a burly and tough guy – on his hands and knees sobbing like a baby because his elderly Australian Shepherd had died in the night. My husband and I went over and hugged him, and then we dug a REALLY LARGE HOLE in our backyard and laid the sweet doggie to rest next to our shep mix (neighbor didn’t have much of a yard to speak of.) A couple of kitties were there, too. We used to wonder what people would think if the yard ever got dug up for the inevitable beachfront condo someday.

  52. 52.

    dance around in your bones

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate: I love that song (“Do-hon’t crie-yay-yay”) but yes,us big girls? we do cry.

    As I mentioned above, even big burly tough guys cry, too o_O

  57. 57.

    Drunken hausfrau

    I drink to Speak, for life well lived and loved. I drink for Whisper, who is bereft as only another lovely animal can be. I drink for your brother, who has been strong and brave and now must just let himself weep… And stroke Whisper, sharing their sadness.

    Consider this a one woman Irish wake. Drink up.

  59. 59.

    Luci

    Like the rest here, I offer my condolences to your brother and your family. I lost my 10 year old cat today, as it was apparent he could not get more time from the tumor that was growing by his trachea. It was both so painful and such a relief to make the decision to let him go so he will suffer no more. I know what everyone in your family is going through, and I wish you all well. You are all good souls, and your pets are lucky to be with you. I TRULY do understand how much you love Lily and the gang. :)

  62. 62.

    CaseyL

    So sorry for your loss.

    When I have had to do this for my kitties, I remember them afterwards as when they were young, vital and healthy. The mental image is so clear it almost seems I should be able to reach in, pick them up, and bring them back to the world. I really, really hate that I can’t do that.

  63. 63.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    My father, a taciturn man at the best of times, said the following after I put my BritKit to sleep. I almost fell over:

    “There are some things in life that leave a black spot on your heart, and it never goes away. This is one of them.”

    This from a guy who has never shed a tear in his life, at least not where I could hear or see. I cannot speak for the rest. But he was right. The sorrow abates with time. But you do not forget.

    I wish your brother well, Mr. Cole.

    ETA: some people will say that it’s a curse that we outlive them. It is. But far more than that, it’s a privilege to be able to insure that they are well taken care of in their time of dying.

  64. 64.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    My condolences to everyone. It’s always hard, no matter how right the decision.

  65. 65.

    Malovich

    My cat, Zoe Oreo, died two days ago from complications from doing a biopsy on her lung cancer.

    It was heartbreaking; your brother had to make the choice while we didn’t and we’re damned grateful that *that* choice was taken from us.

    The only consolation I can offer is that Speak lived a better life for having known him.

  66. 66.

    dance around in your bones

    @Malovich:

    What a lovely name, Zoe Oreo.I’m sorry about her passing – I had a cat who died during surgery, too. I’m not sure if it was better than ‘making the decision’ – it still hurt like hell. It always does, I think.

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