I am going to miss you, Cedric

Well, today we made the hard decision to put Cedric to sleep. We noticed in February of 2005 that he was losing weight and not eating too much. So, we took him to the vet and they said that he had kidney failure. They gave us pills to slow the progression of the disease. The pills helped until about December and then they were not enough. So, another trip to the vet and we got more pills for him as well as learned how to give him an IV of fluids twice a week. That lasted for a short while and then three weeks ago my mom noticed that he was not eating again. Back to the vet and they said that Cedric was in the final stages of kidney failure. They did an all day IV drip for him and then we took him back the next morning for a blood test to see if the all day IV helped. Unfortunately, it had not so they basically said that there was nothing more which could be done for him. I was in Hawaii for about a week after Cedric's final trip to the vet and that was very hard on me. I prepared myself there to never see Cedric again. I made it home and we talked to the vet again and he said if we did the fluids daily that would help him. We started doing that and it perked him up a little last week. However, on Monday we noticed that he had declined significantly and by yesterday he was crying whenever we touched him. He could not even walk anymore and if we put him down to get a drink of water he just fell into his dish. We knew at this time that it was time for him to go.

The hardest thing for me in letting him go is the fact that the Bible never clearly states whether or not animals will be in heaven (since they do not have the ability to accept or reject Christ). I know that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God." (Luke 12:6) I also know that Isaiah talks about the lion laying down with the lamb in the new heaven and new earth - my question in this is whether these are new animals or the animals that were on this earth. I was praying in Hawaii that God would give me something to answer the above question. Well, that first weekend I was home I believe that my prayers and question was answered (twice - God is amazing :) First of all, I was talking to my friend Jenn on Saturday about the above, and she made the statement that God would not create something just to let it go to nothing. Secondly, in church the next day, Pastor Scott quoted the above verse in Luke (and he was not even talking about the Sermon on the Mount!) This does give me comfort that I will see Cedric again someday, but this morning taking Cedric to the vet and seeing him die was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I miss you already, Ced.