Rest in peace, Wally Heather. Words cannot justify the joy you gave us.

Heh, I got a good picture of this entity called Wally from your text. He seemed to be one of those special cats that, a few of, I too have the pleasure of knowing. Like my sister's cat. He's still only a half-year old rascal, but one of the smartest and most cunning (in a positive way) little lifelings I've come to know in my life. He even has a better sense of humor than most humans I know.

Another cat, Tiku, is owned by my grandfather, who lost his wife and we gave him a kitten to keep him company when he's living all alone in the coutryside. That cat was only a week old when it was taken away from his mother, so he developed an especially strong bond towards any human being. I think he feels himself to be more human than a cat. He's not afraid of even strangers that come to the house, but jumps up on their laps and starts curring satisfied.

I had two guinea pigs when I was a kid. They lived up to 2 and 6 years of age. They both passed away croaking (the pleasure sound gps make, owners of them know what I'm talking about) in the laps of me and my little sister respectively. We never even though of putting them down even when they were sick and in pain. They almost always got healed by the doctors. Except for the last time.

6 years is a huge age for a guinea pig to live to, so that one, called Lotta learned a lot of things in her life. She would run to the kitchen following the walls, never in the middle of the floor, and start creeching in the kitchen (another sound familiar only to guinea pig owners) knowing she'd get a piece of salad, cucumber or fresh-from-the-yard grass by doing so.

Anyway, animals rock. I'm deeply, really sorry for your loss, Elixir.

Jam it back in, in the dark.