OUR STORY: Rudy Tudy

My eyes are swollen, my nose is stopped up, I'm exhausted and I've got a headache. No, I don't have a cold, I have a broken heart that's been torn to pieces, shredded up, and stomped on the ground a dozen times. My heart literally aches and so does my stomach.

I was talking to my Dad on the phone this morning and he just casually mentioned that Rocky had come in from last night but he hadn't seen Rudy. {We let them out at night} Jessica said Rocky had been acting different and she had had a bad feeling in her stomach all day like something wasn't right. Rudy is the most loyal out of the two. When he doesn't come home, you get to wondering. Finally this afternoon, she and Julie walked around the neighborhood to look for him.

They came across a vacant lot in the back of our subdivision and there he was, his fluffy little orange body was laying in the middle of the field. He had been run over. They both fell apart.

The big sister in me wishes I could've been there to be "strong" and hold it together for them, but part of me knows I would have broken down too. My heart is torn into a million pieces.

Jessica called me as soon as they found him and we both lost it. As many pets as we've had, we've never lost one in a way that we saw/knew how they died. It has been a very very sad day in the Carter family.

When I "rescued" these two little hunny bunnies {as I like to call them} three years ago, I knew they would be a special pair. I watched them interact all day long and knew I had to take them home with me. Rudy has been such a little blessing to our family. He was so laid back and gentle... he loved to be close to you... he would never ever snap at anyone... he was the more loyal one of the two. He knew who buttered his bread.

I don't know what Rocky's gonna do... I guess mope around and pout.

Who's he going to cuddle with?

Who's he going to fight with in the mornings?

Who's he going to sleep with at night?

They have never been apart... never, not one day. I think that's what makes me the saddest of all.

I'm going to miss seeing him balled up on the chair...

... and sprawled out on the bed.

They buried him with his catnip and his big green cup he loved to drink out of. Yes, mom would make sure his cup {in the sink of the laundry room} was always filled to the brim because that was where he preferred to drink his water. These little felines had their momma wrapped around their little paws!

The "human" in me- or I guess I should say, "the fact that I'm human"- makes me want to humanize these two little kitties like they're real people and they're not, they're precious little animals {thank God}. Rocky will not suffer this loss like we are because his little brain doesn't have quite the emotional capacity that ours does and that comforts me. I don't want him to go all "Where the Red Fern Grows" on us. That would be tragic. I'm confident that he will get plenty of attention and care from his family members and I would give anything to push a button and be there to love on him. I would really give anything to love on my "Rudy Tudy" one last time. I prayed today that God would let us have our pets in heaven.