I had to say goodbye to Alfred this morning. He's been with me for 15 years but stopped eating last week so there wasn't much else to do. He was the first and only pet I've ever had so I wasn't sure what to do after his death. The vet provided a cardboard coffin which was much nicer than the shoebox I had found so we buried him in a relative's back yard. I hope there's not any rules against that or something. I was wondering though, what do other people do with their pets after they cross over? A friend of mine is a dog owner (big dogs) and he said he left his with the vet, but I was wondering what other people do too.
A few months ago I realized that I didn't really have any pictures of Alfred and if he were to suddenly pass I'd have little to remember him by, so I decided to try out a new digital camera I had gotten. Pet owners always seem to have at least one good shot of their pet but I really don't, so I decided that needed to be changed. I took some pictures here and there when he was striking a cute pose and I stopped worrying about it. Last night when I realized that he wasn't going to make it I wanted to make certain that I had some good, healthy pictures of him, so I loaded the pictues off the camera to see what I had. Unfortunately while they looked fine in the camera's tiny window they were all incredibly blurry full-size and it hardly looked like Alfred at all. I decided then and there that even though I had very little time left with him I would figure out how the camera worked to make sure I got a good picture of him. So, I just started snapping away throughout the night (the few times he wasn't in my lap) and eventually fgured out how to get a good picture. I really didn't want a bunch of pictures of Alfred wasting away but I didn't see any other choice.
So now Alfred is buried and I've decided to look over all the pictures I took. I've gone through and picked out the ones that look good and don't make him look sickly, however I'm quite sad that half of the 50 pictures are still rather blurry since I was experimenting. As I look at them I'd really like to print the good ones and make a little photo album for me or anyone else who knew him, but there's one picture that I don't know if it would be appropriate to include. In pretty much all the pictures Alfred doen't look particularly happy or healthy, but there's so few good shots I don't have much to choose from. I was so touched by how we prepared his cardboard coffin that I took a quick shot of it. It's the very last picture I took and it came out fantasically. It's the only clear picture where Alfred looks like he's resting happily and doesn't look at all sick. It seems to be by far the best picture I took but I'm wondering, would this be inappropriate to include in the photo album? I think it's clearly the best picture, but... well... it's a dead cat. This is uncharted teritory for me and I don't wish to cross any lines.
My lap will miss Alfred, especially with winter coming, but at least now I know I'll never forget his cute fuzzy face. The vet also made a paw print mold and said it would arrive via mail in a few days. We placed a rock from the yard over his grave and I was thinking of getting a tiny plaque made to place on it, so now I think I'll try looking into that. Farewell Alfred, I'll miss you always.
Edit: Hope I wasn't too blunt with this post. I was trying to find out more about what caused Alfred's illness and I came across this site and figured I'd try posting something. I've never had any pets other than some fish and my sister's parakeet, and you just can't bond with a parakeet like you can a cat. Besides, I'd have trouble talking about this with someone right now anyway.
Usually when I'm feeling down I'd turn to Alfred. There's something about a purring cat in your lap that just makes it hard to feel sad. Now that he's gone though I don't know where to turn and the place feels so empty. I guess I never realized just how much I rely on him. He's been with me since the 4th grade and I've known him longer than most of my friends. I can't believe I miss this little guy so much already.
A few months ago I realized that I didn't really have any pictures of Alfred and if he were to suddenly pass I'd have little to remember him by, so I decided to try out a new digital camera I had gotten. Pet owners always seem to have at least one good shot of their pet but I really don't, so I decided that needed to be changed. I took some pictures here and there when he was striking a cute pose and I stopped worrying about it. Last night when I realized that he wasn't going to make it I wanted to make certain that I had some good, healthy pictures of him, so I loaded the pictues off the camera to see what I had. Unfortunately while they looked fine in the camera's tiny window they were all incredibly blurry full-size and it hardly looked like Alfred at all. I decided then and there that even though I had very little time left with him I would figure out how the camera worked to make sure I got a good picture of him. So, I just started snapping away throughout the night (the few times he wasn't in my lap) and eventually fgured out how to get a good picture. I really didn't want a bunch of pictures of Alfred wasting away but I didn't see any other choice.
So now Alfred is buried and I've decided to look over all the pictures I took. I've gone through and picked out the ones that look good and don't make him look sickly, however I'm quite sad that half of the 50 pictures are still rather blurry since I was experimenting. As I look at them I'd really like to print the good ones and make a little photo album for me or anyone else who knew him, but there's one picture that I don't know if it would be appropriate to include. In pretty much all the pictures Alfred doen't look particularly happy or healthy, but there's so few good shots I don't have much to choose from. I was so touched by how we prepared his cardboard coffin that I took a quick shot of it. It's the very last picture I took and it came out fantasically. It's the only clear picture where Alfred looks like he's resting happily and doesn't look at all sick. It seems to be by far the best picture I took but I'm wondering, would this be inappropriate to include in the photo album? I think it's clearly the best picture, but... well... it's a dead cat. This is uncharted teritory for me and I don't wish to cross any lines.
My lap will miss Alfred, especially with winter coming, but at least now I know I'll never forget his cute fuzzy face. The vet also made a paw print mold and said it would arrive via mail in a few days. We placed a rock from the yard over his grave and I was thinking of getting a tiny plaque made to place on it, so now I think I'll try looking into that. Farewell Alfred, I'll miss you always.
Edit: Hope I wasn't too blunt with this post. I was trying to find out more about what caused Alfred's illness and I came across this site and figured I'd try posting something. I've never had any pets other than some fish and my sister's parakeet, and you just can't bond with a parakeet like you can a cat. Besides, I'd have trouble talking about this with someone right now anyway.
Usually when I'm feeling down I'd turn to Alfred. There's something about a purring cat in your lap that just makes it hard to feel sad. Now that he's gone though I don't know where to turn and the place feels so empty. I guess I never realized just how much I rely on him. He's been with me since the 4th grade and I've known him longer than most of my friends. I can't believe I miss this little guy so much already.
