Mario's Story - Part I

My story actually begins 2 months before I was adopted. (I can’t remember before dat time anyway.) I was found wandering the streets of my city by some kind human who picked me up and turned me into the local animal shelter. I was skinny, had worms (eekkk) and had an upper respiratory infection. Living conditions were less than ideal at the shelter, but at least I was getting something to eat dat was better den the garbage I was getting on the streets, and a vet visited and gave me ugly shots and awful tasting medicine.

Meanwhile the oomans, who are now M & D, were going thru a horrible time too. Their kitty, Misty, had been battling kidney failure for about a year and a half. She was being hydrated (I guess dat means given fluids – some dumb medical term dat is way over my head – but basically it means they were sticking her with a needle and pouring liquids thru her skin. EEEK) and she was on a special diet for renal failure kitties. Anyway, M & D had tried to do everything for her, but she was getting worse. The vet said she wouldn’t live much longer, maybe only a couple of weeks or so.

M & D’s major problem was dat they were scheduled to go on a Mediterranean cruise with their daughter & son-in-law on September 25, 2008. The cruise had been a surprise gift for them, bought and paid for by their daughter & SIL 1 ½ years ago. The trip could not be canceled. Meanwhile the vet was saying Misty probably only had a couple of weeks left. About 1 week before they were to leave, Misty had pretty much stopped eating. So, M & D made the agonizing decision to have her put to sleep before they left on the vacation. M tells me she and D both cried their eyes out cuz they loved her so. But they wanted to be with her to hold her when she went over the Rainbow Bridge rather than have someone else do it. So, Misty went over the Rainbow Bridge 5 days before M & D left on vacation.

M says I’d better stop here cuz dis is enough for one update. Stay tuned next week and I’ll pick up where I left off.