goodbye, ben

our cat ben franklin had really grown weary with his suffering by friday, and we scheduled a home euthansia appointment for him on sunday, but he found a way to leave the suffering behind by saturday morning. david and i found him when we woke up on saturday, long dead, long departed from the suffering inflicted by his body. we all gathered round him for the last few strokes of his soft gray fur, had a good cry, and got him buried. his death, his loss, his sudden illness have all been such a heavy weight for us. it was a long and hard weekend. i don't expect to stop missing him for a long long time. 

here are my last picures of him from friday, when he needed an open mouth and all his effort to breathe, and his eyes, locked open and dilated, could no longer see.

the neighbors from baldwin street who loved him most (and called him "earl gray", never "ben") came to say goodbye while he was still with us on friday, and they gifted us this 8.5x11 inch print of our handsome boy. 

later, our dear friends and former next door neighbors stopped by to give us a sweet note of condolence, and shared this recent picture of our filthy happy jerk of a cat rolling around in their driveway when he was healthier and happier. 

he leaves a hole in the hearts of many who knew him.