Hmmm. Isn’t this interesting. A few days ago, I received a tarot card reading, and I asked why Echo had to leave us so soon. one of the things Echo said was to write down a list of everything each of us learned from her. “Blog” popped into my head. So, I just came upstairs to do this, and lookey what I found! I had actually written one, and never published it! So, I guess todays blog will be pretty dang easy! This is what I wrote!

On November 25, 2016 we adopted an 8 week-old kitten from a foster family. She was born in Nebraska to a wild mom, who soon after died. Someone found her, and her 2 brothers and brought them to a  foster mom in Colorado. They were aprox 3 weeks old. At 8 weeks, we brought her home to complete our pack.

We named her Echo. Echo fit right in. She and our 2 1/2 yr old Golden Retrieve, Luka, came instant best friends. they would play, chase eachother around the house, roll around together. Our older golden was good with her, and our 2 10-yr old cats finally accepted her, six weeks into her being here. She was even becoming friends with our bird, Gabby.

But it was her relationship with Luka that did it in. He is still in puppy-mode, and we had to constantly remind him that she was tiny, and to be careful. All it took was an instant. They were playing, and we think he got over-excited and picked her little head up in his mouth and shook her like he does his toys. That is all it took. It was like Shaken baby Syndrome. I will spare everyone the details–but, within 2 hours, she was gone. Leaving all of us devastated.

How could such a tiny being make such a huge impact into our lives, in such a short time? 2600 hours is all she was here. 3.5 months. That seems so little. But, it was 2600 hours she was in our house non-stop. I have spent a lot of time home lately, so I was with her constantly. Yes, she slept a lot, but I would go cuddle her when walking by. She was a cuddler, and the best! She would come into our bed at night, and take turns laying on our chests, and purring so loud you could hear it across the room. Every night, while I was watching tv, she would lay on my chest, facing me, and just be happy. She was happy. soooo happy. In fact, I am pretty sure she was happy right up until the very second she died, as she was playing with her best friend.

I learned so much from her. She was fearless. Not afraid of anything, ever. Not dogs, not cats, not humans. In fact, she was so fearless, I was afraid of the day that would soon come when we would let her out. It was afraid strange dogs would go running up to her, and she wouldn’t be afraid, and they may hurt her. hmmm…ironic, isn’t it?

So, along with fearless, she was incredibly brave. She survived on her own in the wild for who knows how long, until THREE WEEKS OF AGE! how amazing is that? Sometimes, I would hold her and just cry, thinking of what she had been through to get to us. Her perfect family. She was MEANT to be here. I knew it.

when I think about what I have learned from her, the list is long. More compassion for others, the fact that life is short, so live it while you are able. You simply never know when it will end!

Ok, let me finish it now!

We are all a little different since knowing her. I see both my cats as more affectionate and loving as they were before her. Tigger hadn’t come to lay on my lap for a while, and he does almost every night now. And Silli comes and lays on my chest, just the way Echo did. She brought us all a little closer together.

Luka misses his little BFF. I can tell. I did a Reiki session on Chris, and he saw Luka with little permanent tear stains under his eyes, over Echo. That made a big impression on Chris, who still somewhat blames himself. He knows it would have happened anyway. But still…. we just miss her so much, you know?

But it does feel good to finally get this all out, and published after almost 3 months. Someday in the future we will get another kitten, but not till Luka grows up more. Until then, we will have our 4 furry kids, with one little baby spirit roaming around the house, playing.

Until next time…