Buried our favorite cat, Petey, on Fri after having to put him to sleep. Feel like I buried a chunk of myself as well.

He was a stray we picked up back when we lived in Miami.  We saved his life and gave him a loving family.

His kidneys failed last week with no real warning.  Was at the vet for a full day with him while he was monitored/taken care of, but the damage was done.  We brought him home for one last night (we promised him that he'd get to go home) and he was his old self for about 20 minutes before settling down for a fitful sleep that night.

The Dr. made a house call Friday morning to put the little guy to sleep.  He got to pass on at home with us and my fiance and I cried for about 3 days.

That 6 or 7 years that we had with him just wasn't enough.

Everyone believes that their pet is special, but it's not often that you get out of state condolence calls from family members you don't often speak to.  We've had a handful.  Anyone who met Petey loved him.  He was sunshine incarnate.  He was never in a bad mood, always forgiving, and always blissfully happy to see us/have a home/belong, etc.

This is going to take a long time to get over...