Animal Place
Website is animalplace.org.
Nervous and sad, I watched Sebastian. He lay, unable to get up and walk, on shavings at UC Davis. His kidneys had failed him and were irreparably damaged. Unbeknownst to us, cancer weaved malignantly inside him.
True to his personality, despite the discomfort, Sebastian chewed his cud. Nothing could stop him from enjoying food.
A decision was made. The kind of heartbreaking choice we make for others in the hopes, unfair and desperate as they are, that we will be alleviating ceaseless suffering.
Three of us had made the 1.5 hour drive from Grass Valley to be with Sebastian in his final moments. We surrounded him with our bodies and love.
Sebastian exhaled softly, never to inhale again. He passed swiftly and peacefully. Just as quickly, everything that made him him was gone, including the heat of his body, the blood stilling and cooling in minutes.
