To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides

We put Shawn to sleep yesterday.

It was a terrible decision to make, but we knew it was time. He'd been living with a tumor for several months and it had started to ravage his body. Over the past three months, he'd lost more than 60% of his body weight and was beginning to show signs of pain and discomfort. Despite his condition, he never lost his gentle demeanor or his love of strolling up and down our front walkway and rolling around on the filthy concrete.

On Tuesday night, Shawn took his usual spot on the pillow behind my head and fell asleep with his face in the nape of my neck. He purred like a truck engine for most of the night, just happy to share that space with me. I would have purred, too, if I could.

On Wednesday afternoon, Eric brought Shawn to see Dr. Pinero who agreed that it was time to let him go. He was weak on his feet and had stopped eating entirely. Eric stayed with him while she gave Shawn the shot in his leg. He rubbed his face against Eric's nose, yawned, and fell asleep for the last time.

Adopting him was one of the best decisions we ever made. He was a constant source of love and affection and my heart aches because he's no longer here with me.