I knew that my precious little girl could never rest in peace until she was home with us. We received Josie’s ashes back a few days ago and I felt relieved to have her at home again. I had made her a promise early on that I’d never leave her at the vet alone and had held to that promise for the 12+ years that we were hers. I had to break that promise the night before she died as she was too ill to be transported and badly needed the IV fluids & antibiotics they were giving her.

The package of her final remains brought an unexpected memento from the veterinarian. It was a little heart shaped piece of clay stamped with her name and an imprint of her paw. We knew instantly that this was done after her passing because it wasn’t covered in blood. She never allowed anyone to touch her paws and would have cut them to ribbons had they tried.

Regardless we were touched by the gesture and set about trying to find a suitable location for this tribute. It wasn’t long before it filled that empty space on my nightstand where she would stand every morning patiently waiting on me to awaken. She would be sitting in the full upright position, with her tail ever so delicately tucked under her paws. I’ve never seen another cat that stood on their own tail, but she made it look regal. The moment our eyes met, she would give out her little “Good Morning” squeak.

This morning there was no squeak, but it gave me joy to see my Precious Little Girl once again sitting on my nightstand.

Your Daddies are thrilled to have you home again and I promise you will never have to spend another night away from our home!

PS. I want to thank the literally hundreds of people who have offered their condolences. It gives me great solace to know that so many could connect with our story. Thanks also to all who shared the story of the Rainbow Bridge. Josie is the first pet I’ve lost that I could truly call my own, so I was unfamiliar with it beforehand.

For those that may have missed my first post about Josie, you can find it here: My Precious Little Girl