Saying Good Bye

This article from the Post-Gazette's website really caught my eye tonight. It is about aging zoo animals and the new challenges they pose for their caretakers.

But by last fall, as Sheba neared her 27th birthday, it became clear that
pain and weakness were winning out. That left the zoo's veterinary staff,
managers and keepers with a very difficult choice.
"It's a lot easier to
second-guess yourself when you say, well, she probably would've lived four more
days, slipping slowly down the slope," said Victoria Milne, the zoo's
veterinarian.
They decided not to wait. On Nov. 8, vets anesthetized Sheba,
then administered a solution by intravenous drip that, in a few seconds, shut
down the big cat's body for good.
Then, as she lay there, keepers, vets and
other zoo workers gathered around the cat they'd cared for for 17 years. Some
whispered a few words, others reached out to lay a hand on her glossy black coat
as they wept.
Like many of the zoo's other geriatric animals, their girl had
lived a long, full life. But that didn't make it any easier to say goodbye.

Sometimes, days go by that I don't think of Mona and then I feel really sad. Tonight, my niece was looking at my cell phone photos and asked me about the white doggy. I teared up a little bit. I want to be the kind of dog owner who gets up every day and thanks her for being part of my life.

But I'm not.