Add me to the list of people expressing her sorrow for your loss, Cathe.
Way back in the early 90's, I had a fascination with Ragdoll cats and bought 2 kittens (brothers) from a breeder. At 10 months, I found one of them on the basement floor, paralyzed in the hind legs from a blood clot. He died at the vet a short time later. The diagnosis: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a condition that thickens the walls of the heart muscle.
The breeder replaced him with a new kitten. One year later, he too died of the same condition. I found him by his cat tree one morning. The breeder refunded my money because the new kitten was also a brother to the one who had died. Then, at 7 years old, my one remaining Ragdoll kitty collapsed in front of me late one night on the bedroom floor. By then I was prepared for his loss, grateful that he lived seven years longer than his two brothers. Still, it is a horrific scene to witness once, let alone three times. Worse is that the breeder refused to spay and neuter the parents, who were obviously passing along this genetic condition.
It does make you stronger, and I am glad my kitties lived with someone like me, who gave them a good life no matter how short. Dakota was lucky he spent his final years with you and your family.
Take care, and you have plenty of love left in your heart for a new puppy!
-Roe
) said to me that "it's the hurt you accept ahead of time when you bring an animal into your life". How true.
