Sootica
Your mum told us that you were a bit sad and upset that
Sootica is no longer with us. We are, too! It is painful to feel the loss of a
pet, like the end of a friendship and I am sorry if you have felt that at all
for Sootica. But it is also a generous feeling because it is on behalf of other
creatures and people. Thank you!
Lois and I are comforted that other people, like you and
Rosie, will remember our gorgeous little cat. Tell that to Rosie, too.
There is another and a less sad perspective one can take.
After all, she lived for 16 years and had a very happy life. She was happy to
sit on some very lucky visitors’ laps (like yours) and purr. In fact, even on
her very last morning, when she was very ill, she sat in our bed purring. And a
little later she went to sleep, very gently and quietly, in my arms knowing she
was loved.
I think it might be possible to escape or reduce the
pain of sadness when one loses a pet. But the cost would be loving them less
when they are alive. It is better, I think, to love them dearly – to take them completely
to heart – even though it means that losing them is harder.
lthough we are sad and upset now, I would
not swap this feeling for never having had the joy of Sootica at all.
Thank you for remembering her.
Love
Tim and Lois
