Run free, Kayla

It is with sadness and a little bit of relief that I tell you that Kayla passed away this morning. She had been in really bad shape the last few months and couldn't hop more than a few steps without falling over (same as Ariel's condition during her last 6 months or so last year).

As with Ariel, the bond between us grew very strong the last few months, and I couldn't pick her up without getting several minutes worth of kisses. She turned into a real lovey and knew I was helping her. Maybe they both realized towards the end of their lives how much I love them. They both came a long way from that box next to the dumpster in Jamaica Plain, where they were found only a few months before I adopted them in May 2001. I can be comforted that I gave them a good life -- Kayla was with me for 8 years and 1 month, nearly to the day. She got so sweet as she got older and especially after she grew disabled. I had her set up with lots of towels in a little bed, which was right next to my bed for the last month or two, so now it's so quiet when I try to sleep. She honked non-stop since she turned 5 years old, so her happy little bunny noises (as Maggie called them) always lulled me to sleep. Now it's just quiet.



But she's hopping around now at the Rainbow Bridge and she's not in any pain. She can go where she wants to and box her teeny little hands at all the other animals who don't listen to her, like she always did. So the relief comes from knowing she's free again. She is with Ariel and Amber now, whom I know are taking good care of her. I will have her body cremated, as I did with Ariel. My dad made a gorgeous box for Ariel's ashes and if Kayla's don't fit in that, too, he'll make another box for my little Squirt. She always hovered around 2 lbs. her whole life.

Hops is getting older, too. He'll be 8 this Aug. 1. He's slowed down a lot, and had a rough time in April, where he was falling over, too, and couldn't walk. That's resolved, but he still can't scratch his ears with his feet. He is mobile, though, so I can take care of the rest for him. He hasn't really been the same since Ariel died last August. As you may recall, he loved her most of all. He went to Kayla and cuddled a lot with her the past year and a half, since Ariel got disabled, but now Kayla's gone and he's just a little bit lost, I think. He still has SweetPea (who's in the prime of her little naughty life at just over 5 years old), but they never cuddled like he did with the twins. He's quiet now, my little old man, but seems to be doing just fine except for a little ear problem I'm looking forward to taking care of with the vet this week sometime. As he gets older, he's getting more cuddly, though, which is nice. But he's alone a lot by choice lately and not surrounded with the love that he was when he had his girls with him. I do my best, but I'm only a human.