what a beautiful tribute to a wonderful friend. it brought tears to my eyes......i am facing the "goodbye" to Amsu, my dear friend of 17 years, as he is slowly aging. his quality of life now is fine but i, as you, watch him like a hawk so that i will not keep him too long. he is 19 years young, as he was in a shelter for two years before my life was transformed with his moving into my home. we've been best friends and i will honor that at the end.

thank you for writing such a beautiful piece. pat