My dear sweet angel lost his battle for life on October 12,2001. It was the hardest day of my life.
I found out he had a cancerous tumor in his ear back in 1999. They gave him a few weeks. I found a wonderful doctor who removed it but warned me it would come back. It did. FOUR times. The last time it came back it was inoperable.
By now he was 17 years old and very frail. My vet told me that the tumor would eventually grow so large he would not be able to swallow. I tried everything to ignore the fact that he was having a hard time swallowing. I started giving him almost liquid food. I thought as long as he WANTED to eat he was alright.
My sister started picking up my son after school and bringing him to my home. Everyday I prayed they would not find him dead. He got weaker and weaker, then the tumor started to bleed through his shoulder. I just kept cleaning it up and feeding him the liquified food.
My son was having a hard time through all this. He was only 8 and called Rambo his brother. We had another kitten, Xena, who we had to keep from bothering Rambo. She liked to play with him and caused him to have two boils from scratching him. The vet suggested getting a playmate for Xena.
One day we were on our way to grocery shop when we parked in front of a Petsmart. I remembered they had pets there from the Animal Shelter every Saturday. My son asked why were we there? I didn't know why, I just felt compelled to be there.
We went inside and there, in a lady's arms was the sweetest, smallest black kitten cuddling up with her. I just died looking at her. She reminded me so much of Rambo when he was a baby. I asked if there were any other kittens there and there were none. Just that one I had seen. I thought the woman with the kitten was adopting her. They told me that that lady came by every Saturday to cuddle the kittens.
I found myself running over to her. I asked to hold her and she cuddled up under my chin and purred. She felt like an angel.
I took her home two hours later! I called her Aaliyah after the fallen singer.
When she got to my home she quickly became everything we all needed. She became Xena's playmate, my son's little girl, Rambo's protector and my new soulmate. She did everything that Rambo used to do before he got too ill. She would lay by the computer with me until I went to bed, then came into the room with me and slept in the drawer of the nightstand next to me. It was almost as if God was giving me more time...
After I had to put my angel to sleep, Aaliyah made the transition so much easier. She still does all the things Rambo used to do, but she has not replaced him, just made the things I needed from him continue.
Thanks for letting me tell my story. And sleep tight, my little angel.
Rambo Shipman - July 4, 1984 - October 12, 2001.
I found out he had a cancerous tumor in his ear back in 1999. They gave him a few weeks. I found a wonderful doctor who removed it but warned me it would come back. It did. FOUR times. The last time it came back it was inoperable.
By now he was 17 years old and very frail. My vet told me that the tumor would eventually grow so large he would not be able to swallow. I tried everything to ignore the fact that he was having a hard time swallowing. I started giving him almost liquid food. I thought as long as he WANTED to eat he was alright.
My sister started picking up my son after school and bringing him to my home. Everyday I prayed they would not find him dead. He got weaker and weaker, then the tumor started to bleed through his shoulder. I just kept cleaning it up and feeding him the liquified food.
My son was having a hard time through all this. He was only 8 and called Rambo his brother. We had another kitten, Xena, who we had to keep from bothering Rambo. She liked to play with him and caused him to have two boils from scratching him. The vet suggested getting a playmate for Xena.
One day we were on our way to grocery shop when we parked in front of a Petsmart. I remembered they had pets there from the Animal Shelter every Saturday. My son asked why were we there? I didn't know why, I just felt compelled to be there.
We went inside and there, in a lady's arms was the sweetest, smallest black kitten cuddling up with her. I just died looking at her. She reminded me so much of Rambo when he was a baby. I asked if there were any other kittens there and there were none. Just that one I had seen. I thought the woman with the kitten was adopting her. They told me that that lady came by every Saturday to cuddle the kittens.
I found myself running over to her. I asked to hold her and she cuddled up under my chin and purred. She felt like an angel.
I took her home two hours later! I called her Aaliyah after the fallen singer.
When she got to my home she quickly became everything we all needed. She became Xena's playmate, my son's little girl, Rambo's protector and my new soulmate. She did everything that Rambo used to do before he got too ill. She would lay by the computer with me until I went to bed, then came into the room with me and slept in the drawer of the nightstand next to me. It was almost as if God was giving me more time...
After I had to put my angel to sleep, Aaliyah made the transition so much easier. She still does all the things Rambo used to do, but she has not replaced him, just made the things I needed from him continue.
Thanks for letting me tell my story. And sleep tight, my little angel.
Rambo Shipman - July 4, 1984 - October 12, 2001.
