It seemed not out of the ordinary at first, when the little cat named M&M by his little boy, came to us. He was not feeling well but he loved to hear that boy call his name. He would gather what little strength he had and run to the child. So focused on that boy that one evening I had to run in front of a car to keep him from getting hit. Later that night he returned to our garage and slept. We would feed and make sure he had water. Then we decided that we would take him to the Vet, this only after my Dar had confronted the mother of the boy and stated that M&M was sick and needed a Doc to look at him. I was there when she said they would take him in a day or so. Of course it didn't happen. We talked it over and the decision was that he would get all his shots, never had had any, and have those little trouble makers removed. The plan was that he would go to Colorado with us from the Fort Hood area, and become a part of our family. And just so ya'll know, we have 4 cats and 2 dogs, so the debate over the wiseness of this choice was to say, at the least lively. He would come more and more to our garage and climb to the highest point to sleep and rest. We would climb a latter to pet and speak with him. He loved the gift of love so much that he would smile, I wasn't sure I had ever seen a Cat smile until that first day. As it became more and more clear he was very ill the decision was made to take him to the Vet. I don't know if this is real or not, I choose to believe it is. He looked me straight in the eye as if to say, thank you, I know yov've done the best you could. All I ever wanted was to be Loved and you gave me a taste of that wonderful gift, the gift of Love. Dar took him to the Vet and came home to say she would go get him after his surgery. What came next was the last thing we wanted to hear. Dar was told that he had feline aids, and that he was a danger to the other family members because it is spread by saliva. Lord forbid that a cat should wash itself or it brothers and sisters. The situation was becoming all to clear. Dar didn't want to go, nor did I but I told her I would. I sat outside the Vets office and went through a range of emotions that are foreign to me. I cried, I cursed, I was mad, and finally I was sad. He could not go alone so I kicked myself in the butt for being less than he desirved. The young lady took one look at the person coming thru the door and later told Dar she knew who I was and why I was there. She took me to a room and brought little Dudester in for a visit. Dudester had become my name for him. I had asked that the Doc not wait to long, inside myself I knew I couldn't trust my emotions. He purred and layed in my arms and I told him over and over that I loved him. He just looked at me. The Doc, a wonderful compasionate man can in. He looked at me and it was time. Dudester was a fighter and didn't want to go, it was completely against my nature to help with this but I held him down and the Doctor did his business in a compasionate humane professionl way. I told Dudester as the process begain that I was sorry, and that I loved him, i hope those were the sounds he passed with. The most sad feeling I have ever experienced rolled thru me then. AS he went slack so did I. I was stuned,to the point of being speachless. All I could manage was to say thank you to the Vet and leave. Arrangements had been made earlier to have Dudester put to rest with others of his kind where I believed he would be more at home. This Doctor of animals has a very large number of acres of land and he lays these little creatures to rest in a humane way. I've been told he says a prayer for them and that this is a sacred ground to him not to be disturbed. He is truely a unique person. Dudester, I've been told you were just a cat. No you weren't. You came to us because thats where you were guided by a higher power. I fell in Love with you. I'm sure that White Dog, White Kitty, Sparky, and all the other babies that have come into Dars and my life meet you at the Rainbow Bridge, I'll even bet that Albert was there as well for he knew of our Love for you all. Be patient, as that time will come for all of us, with a pocket full of treats and a Heart full of Love and we will all sit under the Rainbow Bridge and share in the blessing of God and his son Jesus. We will be together again and I will never let any of you go again. David