My heart shattered into a million pieces today.
I came home from work and found Hugh dead on the kitchen floor. I turned the corner, saw him, and fell to my knees, sobbing his name over and over… it’s as if it wasn’t me, it was someone else crumpled and unable to breathe.
I took his lifeless body to the vet this evening with the help of a friend, and preparing him for the journey was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I also boarded Gigi at the same vet (where she has boarded for two years), because I am too upset to be dealing with her, too.
I’m going to take Hugh’s ashes back to Pennsylvania and scatter them either there, or at Rhinebeck, NY where I scattered David’s ashes almost two months ago. Pennsylvania is where Hugh lived for all of his 15 years, except for the past few months in Toronto.
I will never have another pet like Hugh. He was with David to the very end in hospice, and he comforted me in the painful months that followed. We spent a lot of time together; constant companions. He never left my side — always either curled up at my feet or sitting in my lap. Every night he would lie on my belly and purr before eventually moving down to my feet to snooze, just like he would with David.
The House of Fielding won’t be the same without Hugh. He always greeted me when I got home, and now I have this sick feeling knowing I won’t see his little face at the door anymore.
Rest in peace, my kitty, I miss you terribly.
Hugh, by Gail
July 1, when Hugh returned home from the vet
