I am a trucker, and while I am on the road my soon-to-be wife is...was...kept company by a little furry companion named Lisa.
Lisa, I am sad to report, is no more.
As near as anyone can tell Lisa was afflicted with hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. It is brought on by sudden weight loss, which causes fats to be processed, at too fast a rate, by the cat's liver. It causes jaundice, amongst other problems. It is usually fatal. For Lisa, it was indeed what led to the decision to end her life, to help her avoid suffering.
I didn't realize how much I would miss Lisa. I've never been particularly close with any animal, and was raised by a man born and raised in rural Georgia, where the attitudes towards animals tend to be fairly pragmatic, an attitude I adopted. But Lisa was more than just a pet that I saw for 3 days a month, she was a companion to my fiance, someone who kept her company while I was out on the road doing the best I can for my family.
You held on long enough for me to come home and say goodbye. You held on long enough to see last night, the night our country chose a new direction. You held on just long enough to be a companion to my beloved until I could make it home.
Lisa, your spirit is commended to the Great Unknown now. Thank you for taking care of my beloved in my absence, brightening up her day, snuggling with her after days when work was getting her down, meeting her at the door when she came home from work. There were days when my fiance felt that nobody loved her but you. The long days I spend on the road, weeks at a time, are a sacrifice I make to help put food on my family's table. The long days you spent napping in the sun, watching the deer and squirrels out on our lawn, waiting for my beloved to get home to pet you and love you up were the sacrifice you made in order to help her deal with being the wife of a truck driver.
And now you're buried in our back yard, under the tree where the deer would lay in the tall grass. You always liked the deer and now you'll get visited by them every day.
Thank you, little one. I will see you at the place where all things meet.