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Losing a pet is never easy. No matter how many times it happens, when an animal we love dies part of us dies alongside them. I won't be able to go over every pet we've lost or will lose right now, because I only have so much time to write; but I hope you'll let me console you over two cats that died who you loved very much. The first was a tabby cat named Ed, she wasn't the prettiest kitty, seeing as she was named after the dumb hyena from The Lion King, but she was our favorite. She was sweet natured and loved to snuggle.

I remember Ed not coming home one day and looking for her in all of the places she usually spent her time. There were a lot of cats around the house back then and sometimes they turned up missing. Even though a cat disappearing made you sad, you usually didn't let it bother you too much. Indoor/outdoor cats disappeared sometimes, you understood this and usually assumed that they had found another home; but losing Ed was different. Ed was the the cat you loved the most and Ed always came back home.

A few days had passed and everyone figured that Ed was gone for good, maybe dead but not entirely sure. You had given up looking for her when you found her, dead on the side of the road on your way to the local playground. I don't remember if I told anyone about what I saw, or if I kept the knowledge to myself, but I do remember crying in bed that night, unable to fall asleep. I remember asking God, "Why did you let my best friend die?" God never answered that prayer but He was listening; and He was sad too. Yes, Little Evan, even God hurts when our pets die. Whenever we are hurting, God is hurting with us too.

The other cat was named Leo, a white calico, and while we weren't close to him the same way we were with Ed, Leo's death hurt even more. The neighbor boys, Cash and Dean, had two Rottweilers, Razor and Blade, and you loved those dogs. They were protective of all the neighborhood kids and knew every car that belonged on the cul-de-sac and every car that didn't. We played with them almost every day and they always made sure to come up to us for pets. They were friendly to people they knew, but they had a mean streak in them. They hated cats.

I don't remember who found Leo, but I know that he was alive when they found him. Razor had gotten ahold of him and ripped his spine in half. Leo was mewling in pain, bleeding profusely and unable to move. We brought him inside, laid him on a towel on the kitchen floor and everyone had a chance to say goodbye before Carl put him to sleep in the backyard. I remember laying next to him on the floor, petting his head gently, softly whispering in his ear that I loved him and would miss him very much. I remember crying, all the while wondering if Leo would go to heaven. That's when it dawned on me to baptize him. I drew some water from the kitchen sink and sprinkled water on his head three times, saying, "I baptize you in the name of The Father, in the name of The Son, and in the name The Holy Spirit. Amen."

I don't know if animals go to heaven, the Bible never says for sure; but I choose to believe that they do. I hope and believe that when we get to heaven we'll find them waiting for us alongside the friends and family who made it to heaven before us. We'll see Sienna and Sadie, Elsa and Thomas, Vegeta and Bulma, Aldo and Aloysius, Samson and Rau, Moody and Meshach, and all the other pets who we've lost that I can't remember right now. They'll be up there waiting for us with Ed and Leo, who are cuddling up next to Razor and Blade, who have become the dearest of friends on the other side of Paradise. And none of them are hurting anymore.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea." - Isaiah‬ ‭11:6-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

From me to you,

Big Evan

P.S. - We might even see Meathead in heaven, assuming Uncle Mike makes it in.