Thursday, August 26, 2010

Our Furry Bundle of Joy

Ladies and Gents, I am please to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Layla.

Standing at a mere 7 inches tall and weighting in under a pound, her hobbies include purring, sleeping, scoping out the internet with her daddy JEGs and sipping drinks with her momma Lizzie.


momma's little wino. so proud


So this is the sitch- I has a couple hours to kill before work so I decided to scope out a yard sale my cousin was having. She's got some killer purses, and I was hoping to snatch up something cute for the fall.

When I pulled up, I saw a crate of three kittens and a sign that said "Free to a good home."

Well, I've got a good home, and I like free things. Fate? I think so.

JEGs and I have been talking about getting a pet for a while now. Ever since we had Murphy put down last September, we've both been jonsing for that extra companionship. After a couple questions I found out the were a friend of my cousins' 12-week old kittens that they just wanted to get rid of. When I approached the crate, I figured holding one of them wouldn't hurt, right?

Wrong. I fell in love.

I called JEGs and asked if we could give this kitten a good home. He said if they were willing to hold her overnight, we would go back the next morning (a Saturday) and pick her up. When the owner said it was ok, I was elated!

The next morning on our way to pick up our new pet, we tossed around some names. It wasn't until the ride home that JEGs said "We should name her Layla" that the name clicked.

The entire weekend was spent playing with our new little baby, and we are so excited to have her in our life. Just a warning for the future, there are probably going to be a lot of "ZOMG, Layla did the CUTEST thing the other day" posts. Just sayin'.

Always & Forever,
ME

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Update:
I originally wrote this post on Monday August 16th, with the intent on posting it later in the week. That afternoon I took Layla to the vet to be checked out. After finding out she was only 4 or 5 weeks old, severely malnourished and had worms, JEGs and I felt as though we had saved her from a dire situation. In our minds, we were heroes.

When I arrived home from work on Tuesday August 17th, I found Layla laying on her bed, not moving and barely breathing. I rushed her to the vet where they began working on her quickly. After stabalizing her the best he could, the doctor informed me he believed she had panleukopenia- a viral infection known to attack the gastrointestinal system. He said the best thing we could do was take her to a vet hospital for around the clock care. This would have cost us thousands of dollars, and because of her young age and weight, there was a 90% chance she wouldn't make it.

JEGs left work early and joined me at the vet's office. After much thought (and many tears), we made the painful decision to have Layla euthanized.

Our hearts are truly broken. Even thought we only had Layla for three short days, we had fallen head over heels for her. Even with her small stature, she was able to fill the hole in my heart caused by Murphy's passing.

My intent was to delete this post and not to speak of her at all, but that was not what this blog is about. I started this blog as a way to document my life lessons and personal growth. Although this lesson has been particularly tough, I feel as though it was an important one.

From this experience I have learned that JEGs and I have so much more love to give- whether it be cat, dog, or *gasp* eventual baby. However, just because we have the love to give, it doesn't mean it is the right time.

We will eventually get another pet, but not for a while. Right now we are going to keep on loving each other and building our future.

9 comments:

Taylor Kearney said...

Wow, I went from smiling/laughing to crying. I am so sorry for your loss. There is nothing worse than losing something that made your heart smile so big. Good luck in finding you and JEG's perfect match- I just know it's out there somewhere. <3

Amanda said...

You took me from oohing and aahing straight to almost in tears. What a wonderful tribute to that little baby that was only in your life for a short time, but showed you that you and JEGS are one strong couple. It takes a couple like you guys to bounce back from losing a pet. Much love to you, LB !

nina@themissadventuresofnina said...

I agree with the first 2 comments. I was ready to say that the picture of her sleeping on the laptop was so adorable. i think is wonderful she had amazing parents for 3 days. I own a cat and she is like one of my children to me. We did rescue her. Then we took care of an abandon kitten and turned out she had lukemia and feline AIDS. She lasted only a few weeks, but I will never forget her.
You guys have a very kind heart...

Shannon said...

Oh man, once again, I'm so sorry LB. What a beautiful little kitty she was. You guys were total heroes and even if it was just for 3 days, gave her a ton of love. So sorry :(

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

Oh, I'm so sorry! This must have been so hard for you, I can't imagine. I know how quickly you can fall in love with a pet. Doesn't seem fair.

Jodie said...

Oh, Lizzie, I'm so sorry to hear about cute little Layla. I was so happy for you and JEGs, then was crying for the two of you... so sad. She was such a cute little girl-- apparently a little nerdy too (all the pics on/at the computer crack me up... too cute!).

Brittany and Brian said...

I am so sorry for your loss, Amy. I cried the whole way through, knowing that she had passed from your facebook updates. Take time to heal and grieve- trust me, I know what you are going through. Soon, you will smile from the memories.

Jamie Lee said...

I'm so sorry this happened to you. She was such an adorable kitten. My thoughts are with you guys.

Freckles Chick said...

I am so very sorry, LB. I have no doubt you did the humane thing, my friend. From rescuing the little darling, to loving her so fiercely, to helping her move on. This sounds so trite, but I truly believe things happen for reasons that are beyond our immediate comprehension.

Thinking of you.