Hi Jeff ~ I'm so sorry for your situation. Tonight will be a special night having Morphy home. Having to loose one is very hard, but three is unbelievable! My prayers go out to you tonight as well as the ones leaving you. When we adopt them we also take on the responsibility to let them go with the least discomfort and taking them through difficult surgeries is a personal decision that we all make differently. When Tim and I were in Arizona from 2005 to 2007 we were called to the local animal shelter to help them care for three who had been given up together. We decided to take all 3. Each was different. Bandit was the big brother, the last one out of the cage, the last one to the bowl, and the last one to sleep at night. He'd circulate beds at night to be sure everyone was o.k. He'd pop up every time I'd check on them. His love was boundless. When he began to loose hair last year the blood tests came back negative for anything serious. Antibiotics worked for awhile, but I suspect his little immune system just could not hold this back. He ended up having a kidney tumor that had begun spilling toxins throughout his body. He went seriously downhill in 48 hours. We had to help him to the bridge Oct. 4th (the feast of St. Francis, the saint who loved animals). His youngest sister had died in March of failure to thrive. So now our back room has only one of the "Arizona 3." Bandit had such a hold on our hearts, but they all do in specific ways. One of the testaments to our love of these little ones is to continue to care for those given away, supporting the shelters, and taking in when we can. Right now we're down to two little loves: Flower, the last of the Arizona 3 and Ling-ling our little deaf girl who survived surgery 2 years ago and is doing well. She's older but has a good quality of life, and Flower? Well she shares my room with me, has new hidey holes, gets to hide in mommy's bed, and is still best friends with our adopted dog. When she's tired she crawls up in Bandit's old bed which is now under my bed. When we're ready we'll see about loving more. Prayers tonight for you Jeff. Warmly ~ Mary Conley [Posted in FML 6858]