Our cat, Shadow, died this morning. The last of our pack of little critters, he was 19 years old. My daughter who is now 23, raised him from kittenhood. I made the decision while at the vet this morning to give him the death shot. Nothing anyone could do for him and he deserved to die in my arms and with minimum pain. We brought him home and wrapped him in my beautiful black pashmina and my daughter and I dug his grave in the backyard. My daughter laid him in his grave and we both hand filled the grave. We have already got the 'it was only a cat' while we weep in grief. Okay, he was a cat, but he was our family and we loved him. With his little body goes a large part of our lives and memories. So for those who understand or care, if a ghostly black cat crosses your path and glares with baleful eye, say 'hi' as it might be our Shadow wandering in some other dimension, cranky and moody, out to scare simply because that was his nature. He wants you to be frightened but really, he was a dear little critter underneath all that attitude. So, goodbye Shadow and whatever dimension you are in, or not, our love doesn't stop. We loved you alive and we love you still, whatever whoever however you may be.