26 years ago I had to let the Poof go. You never get over it. It never goes away. The tears may not come as often, but the grief is always there.
There are always the guilt and the questions. Did I do something wrong? Did I not do something right? Could I have done something better? The answer to all of those is, probably. Of course, Poof would be 41 years old now and nothing I could have done or not done would have her here with me now. As it was, Poof made my life so much better for 15 and a half years.
Poof opened up a whole new world to me. In fact, she changed the whole world immeasurably. Countless other cats were saved because of her. Starving cats were fed, kept warm, defleaed, dewormed and loved because of her. Poof also opened up a new human world to me. I've had new friends all over the world for over a quarter century now, most of whom I still communicate with, including all of you.
Through all these years, there's been a lot of worry, a lot of pain and a lot of loss. There's also been infinite love and countless rewards, and there've also been friends like all of you, without whom, I don't know how I'd keep going. John