When I was growing up I've always had pets around. I never got
attached to any pet. Until I was seven years old. My family and I were
living in Green Mountain Falls, in Colorado. It was a warm sunny day
when my mother found this little orange and white cat digging in our
trash. Mom quickly got the cat out of our trash and took him inside.
My brother who is three years older than I am, and I saw the dirty cat
and begged mom to keep him. Mom of course said no. Instead she posted
a "found cat" flyer in the post office. The next day the owner came by
to pick him up. My brother and I were pretty disappointed, but we went
on about our lives and soon forgot about the mystery cat. A few weeks
later to our surprise the little orange and white cat was back. This
time when my mom took him inside, she decided it was for good. Mom
wanted to give him a name so we all decided on "Sunshine." Sunshine
was a very happy go lucky kitty. Mom then took Sunshine to the vet to
find out as much as she could about our happy new family member. The
vet told her he was a very healthy cat at the age of seven. When mom
brought Sunshine back, she told us about him and that he was the same
age as me. We all decided that Sunshine's birthday would be the
same
as mine, April 26th. During the next few years we all grew to love and
know Sunshine, and of course Sunshine would pick and choose his
favorite people. When my brother and I were growing up Adam was
Sunshine's favorite. They were inseparable. Sunshine was loving
to all
of us. He kept all of us company and brought us warmth through the
cold nights by curling up at our toes. Sunshine was also funny.
He'd
get "the crazies" when he'd run from one room to the other as
fast as
he could for no reason at all. Soon when my brother turned 13 he moved
in with his father. Sunshine was upset and confused, but picked a new
best friend, and that was my uncle. Sunshine was always in my
uncle's
room on his bed with him. He was my uncle's sleeping buddy. It
stayed
like that for the next few years. Next my uncle moved out, again
Sunshine was upset, and again he chose a new best friend. As it turned
out he chose me. This is where the real relationship comes into play.
Sunshine became my best friend in a matter of days. We would play
together and cuddle on the sofa. He was my special little guy.
Sunshine had a habit of waiting for me by the front door when I got
home from school. As soon as I came home, he was all over me, walking
in out of my legs, and meowing, looking for his daily afternoon
lovings. Sunshine slept in my bed cuddled at my chest every night and
stayed there until the morning light peeked through my curtains. As
Sunshine and I got older we become closer. We had a special bond. He
knew when I was upset and would jump in my lap, to try to comfort me
as I cried. By the time hit the age of 18 we were all surprised at how
old he was, and we counted our blessings that we still had our happy
little guy with us. Sometime before our 18th birthday my mother
started to sing, "You Are My Sunshine", Sunshine's ears perked up
and
his eyes glistened. That's when we knew that would be
Sunshine's song.
Sunshine of course had other cats to be around, His sister's
Pewee and
Denver. Peewee and Denver loved Sunshine. Sunshine being older
didn't
mind them being around. He snuggled with them and even gave them baths
once in a while. As Sunshine got older he became slower and he slept
all the time, but with out fail he was always there for me. Then one
day I left him. I moved out when I was 19. When I was gone for the
three months, my mother had told me that Sunshine had become
depressed, and wouldn't come out of my room. When I came back
home to
stay Sunshine was happy again, but he followed me around the house, as
if to make sure I wasn't leaving him again. Sunshine and I
continued
to have our special bond through the next two years. Sunshine and I
shared our 21st birthday only I noticed he wasn't as happy as he
used
to be. He was old and frail. He was in a lot of pain with his
arthritis. I talked to my mom about it "being time." It's never
easy
to decide to put a pet down, but being his best friend I needed to
talk to mom about it, we had to make that horrible decision. My mother
called the vet and set an appointment for us to bring Sunshine in. On
May 6th 2004 we said our good-byes to Sunshine in the examining room.
The vet asked if I wanted to stay. I chose to stay, I talked to
Sunshine and told him it was okay and that I loved him. I petted him
to let him know I was there and that soon his pain would be gone. The
vet gave Sunshine the shot and he fell over, My uncle and I set him
down gently so he could be comfortable. There I stood, over my
lifeless cat. Tears running freely down my cheeks. I stood there as a
lady made a footprint for us to take home. After a few minutes I
finally walked out of the room and to my mom. We embraced and cried.
When we got home I silently sang Sunshine's song. "You are my
sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are Grey.
You never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my
sunshine away." From that day on Sunshine has always remained in my
heart. I miss Sunshine, but now I am at ease knowing he's that
happy
little orange and white kitty again.