Stories of the Moose
Leading up to Moose's Last Day
A collection of emails.
To: Walter Peterson
Subject: hello
Moose, on the other hand, is not doing as well. Aisly and myself sat down Friday night to talk about Moose's quality of life. There's a lot of spunk left in that ancient cat, but she's long since passed the upper limits of feline old age. The athritis has affected every joint in her body and (I think) is hurting her. There's a good possibility she has cancer as well. I'm calling the vet Monday to get a check up on her and see what she thinks of Moose's status. I spent the weekend preparing for that day I have to put her to sleep, which I don't think will be far off. I can't remember the last time I cried so much. We're just gonna spend a lot of time together.
From: Walter Peterson
Subject: Howdy
We did not call yesterday or the day before as we did not want to open new wounds about Moose. I hope you did not have to make a painful decision. let us know.
To: Walter Peterson
Subject: status report
Oof. This last month has been really stressful, both at home and at work.
I've put off plans for finding a new place to live for the time being. I think I will stay put until Moose is gone. My main focus now is to spend some quality time with her. She's still got a lot of spunk for a cat approaching 90 in human years, but I think she's ready to go. I've made my peace with her, and Aisly is doing her best to convince me that I've been a good parent and she's had a fantastic life, but I still feel tremendous guilt and a sense of failure that I will have to take her to the vet soon one last time. I do not think she's going to pass on her own, and I don't want her last days to be painful. I want that little belly of hers filled with deli meats (her favorite now is shaved pastrami).
--Mark