On the road again....With some sorrow

Husband and I will be headed out for vacation early tomorrow. One of the hardest things about going on vacation (besides the preparations and traveling to the destination) is leaving our furkids behind. We have quite a menagerie of four-legged "beasties." The cats are fine at home alone (or actually with each other) and an adequate supply of food and water is provided for them (as well as the initially clean litter boxes.) Unfortunately, the dogs have to go to the vet clinic for boarding due to their particular needs. I have searched everywhere for someone willing to "pet sit" but there appears to be no one in my town. So, it is with a heavy heart that I leave them penned up at the clinic.

One of the things I marvel at is how QUIET the house becomes when the canine furkids are boarded. It's got to be the equivalent of having kids grow up and move out of the house. I guess, childless couple that we are (by choice), it is the closest we come to the "empty nest" experience.

The cats will no doubt bug us when we get ready to walk out the door early tomorrow, but it's not the same as with the dogs. Cats are usually more low-key about such things as being left alone.

One of our beloved elderly canines disappeared about ten days ago (small Yorkie) somehow managing to get out of a well-watched (and fenced) backyard. It is troubling that despite plenty of ID attached (including an embedded microchip) we have been unable to locate him. Several people have called in reference to an ad we placed in the local paper, but they have been in regard to other dogs spotted roaming a neighborhood.

My suspicion is that the little Yorkie has gone someplace quiet to leave this life behind and did not want us to find him. I understand from past experience and talking with others regarding pet loss that sometimes elderly pets will go somewhere they can't be found, to die. People who do not equate pets with the same love as a human, don't understand the feeling of loss. Others know well about the phrase "The Rainbow Bridge" pets cross at the end of their life here on earth.

No matter how many pets have passed through my life (and there have been plenty,) I still mourn the loss of each one. Even if it was their "time to go."