This has been one of the saddest, toughest weeks of my long life. Casey and I decided together that it was time and made an appointment with the vet, who was out of town until today. So today is the day.

In 2011, I wrote a story about Wink going missing, telling the story of how the little imp came to live with us:

the missing wink

ON OCTOBER 10, 2011 BY JO MAYNE CASEY

geez, why do we have pets???  as if people-relationships aren’t enough, we crave the domesticated  animal to feed and stroke.  so it was that i came to own a 1-eyed cat called wink.  my aged feline, the legendary Sonny (of Sonnystone Acres fame) died at the venerable age of 16-or-so…i was volunteering at the lutheran school library when the librarian noted my distress and decided that i should take on a new kitten.  this kitten had been thrown out on her countryside property with its eye hanging out of its socket.  her brother is a veterinarian (which is why she gets a lot of throwout-animals) so she took it to him.  at first, they tried eyedrops and such, but finally his eye was removed and when i met him he was about 3 months old and his stitches were still covering his missing orbit.  he was playful and seemingly unaware that he was different—i fell in love and brought him home.  he hides…especially from children (who i think may have contributed to the eye-loss).  he’s a Great friend…loves feet…vigilant protection from lizards…always hungry.   he never went outside of the house, but when we built the screened-in back porch we would keep the window open so he could go from the kitchen in and out.  i’ve never seen him try to get out of that porch, though he runs wildly window to window when critters come near.  i’m thinkin’  he must have been planning this escape…like the shawshank redemption…he probably would wait until we were soundly asleep and throw himself at the screendoor (held shut by a snap-latch) until…last night…he finally broke out….

he won’t talk about where he’s been for the last 24 hours.  we just kept checking, listening, and finally he showed up at the screendoor…hungry…”okay, rub me, but feed me Now”…he’d lost his collar (we put his old leopard-skin-bell back on)…i’m pretty sure he’s going to write a book, though, so i’ll let you know.

---

---

His was a wonderful life, loved by all, but especially by his Mom and Dad. We were empty-nesters and he was our baby. He was well-traveled, going from New Mexico to Tennessee (he saw a bear!) and three times to Disney World, where he saw the fireworks every night.

He has been my sleeping companion, my shoulder to cry on, my beloved familiar. “Give momma a kiss” I would say and he’d oblige as I puckered up and his scratchy tongue licked my nose. My morning routine began with feeding him; my night-time routine ended with him cuddled nearby.

He’s been trying to die on his own, and maybe if I didn’t have to go to NYC, he would have, but this is the way it has to be. I am bereft.

Y’all know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Let’s join together to beam out Love for all of our pets, living or not. They are a precious gift in this life.

---

---

I wrapped him up in a blanket and carried him in my arms to the vet. He laid his head down on my shoulder and trusted me. Because he was so dehydrated, they couldn’t get a vein, so it was best that I let them take him back and do the procedure without me. He offered no resistance. They carried him back wrapped in a blanket and we brought him home. Casey had already dug the hole and the gravestone was ready. He rests easy now.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” –Winnie The Pooh

Geez, this is heart-wrenching. May Peace be with us all…