Jack (RB) will be home for Christmas

With life being just scattered since his death in October, I haven't been able to go get his ashes. Dignified Pet Services just called again and reminded me they still have his ashes. I called back and asked to have them sent to Dove Lewis, where he was put to sleep. DPS is hard for me to get to, since I don't have a car. So, they go to Dove Lewis at least 4 times a week, and will have him there well before Christmas... and I can walk over there and pick him up.

And I hope my SS (Rianna) won't mind, but I'm going to use the picture box she gave me (with his pictures she put in the lid) as his urn. It's a perfectly appropriate place for him. At least for now, until I can get him into a real metal urn. It's just not something I can afford right now. I have regular expenses to deal with. The girls come first, though... I'll deal with pantry-diving for dinner in order for them to eat what they need. Good thing I was raised to always have a well-stocked kitchen. (I'm just seriously craving orange juice right now... a couple more days... then I can get some)

I know I don't post much about my ups and downs over here... I use Facebook for that... (Portia just ran past me like a bat outta he**) But I know I can count on you guys for moral support over feline stuff. I felt it was appropriate to say something about this here. It'll be good to have my baby boy home.

That one is similar to what I'd considered. It's okay, really. My financial issues are related to mostly adjusting to a once a month payday from twice a month. Between that and not getting an advance on my student loan before Christmas... after the first of the year, I can do something, it's just those in between periods are a royal pain.

I'm happy with waiting. I've waited in getting his ashes back. Literally, the week I had to put him to sleep was when I interviewed for the current job, then i got it, did all the transitioning, sorting out what the heck my job was (created for me), dealing with school... I have friends who ask me how I manage to juggle everything in my life... I never know how to answer that... I just DO. Sometimes not as well as others. Those who see my wall on FB know all too well my down times. Just like the day my SS package arrived. I'd been kept awake most of the night before with a fire alarm, then a power outage (and the generator kicking in to keep the hallway lights on in the buildings... all. night. long.), then getting up the next day (the day my package arrived) to find that my primary computer was having problems, and the external HD I have *everything* on isn't turning on... so with everything else... that piled on. Getting the box that evening just made everything else go away for a short time.

I hate being the charity case to people. I do. It's one thing when it's family helping, but friends... 'strangers' ... I hate it. heck, I don't even take food stamps (although I'm really tempted right now, but it wouldn't kick in for a while), because it just feels weird.

Sorry, this is turning into a book of gushing about how things have been. Like I said, those who see my stuff on FB know about a lot of this... I'm always torn between being the vocal one about life in general (therapy!) and how I was raised (keep 'yer mouth shut about personal things). Let's just say that if my mother were of sound mind and knew what all I vent about on FB... my hide would be skidding across the continent of North America.

Okay, I'm gonna go shut up now... this should be about Jack... not me.

Sorry for taking so long to reply... the internet went down last night in the building.... and for someone like me who does so much tied to the internet...

Both Dove Lewis (where I took him to cross the RB) sent a condolence card as well as a card with his paw prints and a snippet of his fur in a little ziploc baggie. I have those tucked away... the vet who first saw him when he was sick also sent me a card. Everyone in the office signed it. He was in so much pain that night when they saw him (mind, you, this was the first time they ever saw him), but they fell in love with him despite the pain he was in. He was a belly rub cat, hence my name on here. When I brought Portia home, I was surprised that being home less than 6 hours, she flopped over onto her back and let me rub HER belly. I think it was a sign of acceptance from her, but also a sign from Jack...

If you put it that way.... I just get weird sometimes... Esp. recently. I had two people at our convention buy things for me.... I didn't ask for them to do that. It was a really bad weekend for me. So, still struggling with that. I'm just not used to people offering to help. I'm usually the one helping others. You could ask my best friend... she's known me since we were 9 (almost 30 years now), and I always bought stuff for her and for things we did, never expecting to be paid back. In retail, I always bent over backwards to make sure my customers got what they needed... sometimes to the ire of our floor managers...

If others (and I think I saw one other on here who said she was up for helping), then i see nothing wrong with it... I'll try not to think of it as charity but as a gift for Jack... thank you... I'm just not used to receiving... always giving... Thank you.

Amanda

The place Jack was cremated at is Dignified Pet Services in Tualatin, OR. They have urns and such. That's where I was looking at them, on their website.

This one is the one I was looking at in slate and pewter (I'm a silver kind of girl, hate brass). It costs extra to personalize... yikes! I had no clue when I was looking at them before. They also have something similar to what you posted, as well as a heart shaped one with the paw prints on top. You guys can decide through PM or whatever... I'd had a hard time deciding between that one, the heart shaped one and a 'service urn' they also carry that has an RB saying on it. I know DPS has my info and currently has Jack's ashes, but they'll be delivering them to Dove Lewis sometime this week. I don't know how detailed their records are.

I don't know how you'd go about it... I know they do internet orders. They may also have all my information. I know they have my name and number in their records. I guess if anyone wishes to pitch in, they can PM you... or if someone stateside wants to take the lead... I look at all of their options and still can't decide... sometimes I can make up my mind, others... ehh, not so much.

Yup. In Oregon. I just posted links to the place that cremated Jack. They're local, but difficult for me to get to (or I would've picked him up ages ago). They have urns and various other things... I posted a link to the one I'd nearly decided on, but then couldn't afford due to bills needing to be paid.

Amanda

I did the currency exchange on the one you posted... it would be 100 without personalization... 20 pounds comes to roughly 31 American. At least that's what my converter thing on my computer says...

I don't know how long the line of personalization can be... but ideally it would be: Jack 2002-2010

He had just turned 8 years.

There are some that are way more... like the marble ones and the figurine ones (one of which made me cry, don't need that!), but simple and elegant... like the sleek kitty monster he was... although he had plenty of inelegant times... he was a dork.. takes after Meowmy that way.

I just posted what I would want on it. the slate and pewter. I don't know what size, as I don't know how much he was in ashes. they would know. I think they're all the same price no matter the size.

Donations to your local rescues/shelters would be great for those who wish to. If someone in upstate NY wants to donate, I adopted him from a private rescue network there. I still have their card... folks can PM me about them.

Amanda

I hit the multi-quote on the wrong post... yeesh
(Natalie said)[You should pick out the Urn that you want. So far as personalization goes, there is usually no limit on the number of characters/lines that can be engraved. What you suggest "Jack 2002 - 2010" should be on 2 lines IMHO.

EDIT: I just noticed that they do have a limit on the amount that can be engraved, and it has to be on a single line.]

That one is just one line... the one they have that's similar to the one Ruthy posted can have three lines. The personalization costs more. In that case:

Jack
Rubslut Kitty
2002-2010

Oregon has no sales tax. One of the lovely things here.

I don't mind... it all does relate in a way to him coming home...

Dove Lewis called... his ashes are there... they're within walking distance of me, so I'll bundle up and head over there... he'll be home shortly.

Thank you everyone... 2010 has been a huge rollercoaster of good and bad... I can look back and be glad i didn't get a major illness or injury again (two years running, but Jack's death hit at the same time the previous incidents hit in the calendar year, so that was my third emotional hit... maybe the spell is broken).

The tin his ashes are in is so small. I was wondering how much ashes there would be from a 14 pound cat... not much! If you've ever gotten loose tea from a Chinatown type of shop where it's in those little colorful tins... that's the size of this thing.

I put the condolence cards from the vet and Dove Lewis in the memory box with him. After he passed, they did a paw print card and took a clipping of his fur... those are also in the box. I'll put one of his favorite toys in there as well... as much of it as I can fit will go into the urn once I get that. The cards may stay in the box... along with pics of him I may print out (once I can recover that hard drive).