I've had cats all of my life, but Kirby was special. He was orange with Tiger stripes and I swear he was part dog because he had NO fear, which ended up being his greatest downfall. He LOVED the snow, leaping through it like a gazelle. Almost daily we'd laugh at the new places Kirby would find to hide, like on top of the kitchen cabinets or in the cardboard box used for recycled paper. He was our dog's best friend and he loved to hop in the car whenever he could, whereas most cats run at the sound of a car door or engine. He was endlessly tolerant of the kids picking him up awkwardly and was always gentle with his claws.

Last week was one of the worst of my life because, as I was backing out of the driveway to pick up the girls, I accidentally ran over Kirby and he died. I didn't know what to do with myself and it will be a long time before I can pull into or out of the driveway without thinking about that night. The guilt I feel will never go away. My girlfriend cried for days, as did I. Even worse was the fact that he was barely 1 year old when it happened. I will never completely live down the guilt of what happened and I'm trying to make sense of why it happened. I've never even hit an animal with my car in my life. I'm having his body creamated with the ashes returned to me...at least I'll know he's home.

I hope he knows how much he was loved.....