It’s not my intention to belittle those people or minimize their all-encomcompassing pain. There but for the grace of God could go any of us. It’s just so terribly sad that a person would reach a point when existence is so painful that they choose not to exist, because their pain then becomes a burden for those they left behind.

Your wit and mirth will be missed.

If I knew I was going to die, and I did not know that someone would take my pets and love them and care for them, I would humanely euthanize them rather than take the chance that they would be abused or neglected.

Thankfully I do not have to make that tragic choice. I have a large network of family and friends who would take my pets in the event of my death, just as I have taken many pets for others who have passed on. But maybe these poor people did not have that kind of support. Or maybe they were so caught up in their own misery that they could envision nothing but misery for their pets’ future.

I cannot think of a situation that would cause me to commit suicide. Life is precious and we don’t get nearly enough of it. I’ve been through awful things in my life too, losing a brother in childhood, losing other beloved relatives, losing my fiance to pancreatic cancer last year and enduring many hardships and reverses of fortune. But life is a gift and life is good and despite all those losses I have gained so many wonderful memories.

No matter what happens in my life, I always want to see what comes next. After all, when you hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.