Saying Good-bye to One of God's Special Creatures
It was July/August 2000 and I had graduated from college that May and moved from Utah to Nebraska. I was getting ready to move into my first apartment, living on my own for the very first time. My parents who lived down the road from where I'd be living were encouraging me to get a pet, namely a cat. They thought it would be nice for me to have something to come home to in the evenings, instead of coming home to an empty apartment. We had family pets as I was growing up but none of them were my sole responsibility. I vacillated over whether I was ready for the responsibility of having a pet of my very own. It seemed like a serious commitment. Here would be an animal that could conceivably live for 10+ years and I would be responsible for the caring, feeding and expense of them for the duration. I don't think I had a permanent job yet as I was working as a temp. So no set income yet. I didn't know where I would be in the next year, let alone if my circumstances w