ALB in Wonderland Instagram – We lost our Dawn. She was my best friend. I’m grateful I got to hold her while we said goodbye, I promised her I would be there till the end and I got to keep my promise.
I want to tell you about the first time I knew Dawn and I belonged together.
Immigrating to a new country is a difficult and expensive process. When we finally got our approval in 2016 we moved Dawn & May here to Canada first, in November, and Niko was due to follow two months later, in January. We could not afford to spend Christmas together, and since I had the girls I couldn’t travel to go visit family. It was my first Christmas all alone. I think when you spend a major holiday alone you have to make a decision- try to make merry all by yourself, or pretend it’s not happening at all. I went with the latter.
I ate a regular meal and watched tv. If I could convince myself it was just a regular day I could get through it.
But when midnight came and brought us to the 25th, I found myself sobbing, the kind of cry that makes you think you’re going to explode. Dawn got up and climbed onto my chest, one paw on each of my shoulder blades, staring me right in the face.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” I said to her. I couldn’t make myself calm down. I had never had a pet before and didn’t want to scare her. But she didn’t move. She stayed with her eyes locked on mine for as long as it took for me to start breathing normally again. Then she settled on my chest and we fell asleep.
That was almost 6 years ago. And she slept on my chest every single night since.
Dawn was the kind of cat who ran to the door to greet us when we got home. She befriended everyone- the favourite of every maintenance man. If I called her name, she would come running. And if she called for me, I’d get up and come see her no matter what I was doing. My friends would laugh when I would do this but Dawn and I had a mutual understanding- if I need you, please find me.
It’s devastating, and in a weird way it makes complete sense that they would both pass so close to each other. They were adopted together as kittens and had never been apart their entire lives. Where one went, the other would follow.
I need you, I need you. Please find me. | Posted on 01/Apr/2022 22:54:35
