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 During my lifetime, I have done some things I am proud of, and some things I am not so proud of; like everyone, my life has had highs and lows. Looking back, I regret the final steps I took with the remains of my Himalayan cat, Princess, and my Siamese cat, Charlie.
Princess came into my life around 1985, and Charlie was a gift that I received around 1989. Both cats were loveable, though both had very different personalities. Charlie, a neutered male, was rambunctious, always crawling on top of Princess with his play. Princess was content to purr, and sit regally, while looking beautiful. Both followed me around my home and were content to be close to their papa.
Princess was euthanized in 2000 while I was living in Lafayette, Indiana fulfilling a one-year teaching assignment for Ivy Tech State College. Princess had become incontinent, and she suffered from hip pain, so I finally made the painful decision to have her euthanized. While crying woefully, I drove her to the veterinarian, and looked into her eyes as the light from her eyes dimmed and her soul left her body. Though I was given a choice for the return of her cremains, I left her body at the veterinarian’s office to be cremated with a general discard of her cremains.
Charlie died from heart problems on Sunday, April 8, 2001, in my arms, after I had returned to live in Torrance, California. I drove his body to the veterinarian the next day, and again left his body in a plastic bag to be cremated.
Looking back, I wish I would have retained the cremains of both of my beloved pets. Though I have created a pet memorial in their names, I would have liked to have had both pets who shared so much with me interred with me. This is not as unusual as you might think. Increasingly, families are having their pets cremated and the pets’ cremains are interred with the family with whom they shared love and affection for many years. Why not; after all, pets are part of our family, and we adore them for their love, so their parting should be more than a discard like a piece of trash.
As I wrote at the beginning, looking back, I regret the final steps I took. I wish I would have had this enlightenment earlier in my life, as I would have taken a more progressive path. However, Princess, Charlie, and all of our other family pets will have a permanent place in our family memorial site, in honor of our equal devotion.
Perhaps I can atone for my actions in some small way by encouraging you to properly memorialize your pets. After all, it is the right thing to do!
The details of the Fletcher and Takeuchi Memorials can be found at:
Family History Plaque For Emiko Takeuchi
http://www.valdostamemorials.com/articles/TellALifeStory.asp
Foundation Preparation and Plot Design
http://www.valdostamemorials.com/slides/slide_show_2/slideshow.htm
Pictures Of The Installation And Final Memorial
http://www.valdostamemorials.com/articles/FletcherMemorial.asp
More Pictures Of The Installation And Final Memorial
http://www.valdostamemorials.com/articles/MemorialDefined.asp
Porcelain Photo of Emiko Takeuchi
http://www.valdostamemorials.com/articles/PorcelainPhotographs.asp
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