Emma 

Emma began her life with events that we were not privy to. She was first
spotted as a small kitten with a mother raccoon and her babies. Months later
she was live trapped to save her from a slow death in the Michigan winter. A
friend sent her to live with me, as all cats should, in a warm house with
food and love.
Emma had a gentle alpha personality. Through the years Emma accepted 4 more
cats and 3 Great Danes into our family. She taught them the house rules and
generally took care of us all. She was eventually, lovingly, called 'Fat
Emma'. She accepted our cross country move to Florida in stride.

My last shoulder surgery found Emma snuggled up against my shoulder and arm
purring her healing purr. Every night for our 11 years together she loudly
purred her comfort and love as I fell asleep. She put up with mixed up
Isaiah, another adopted cat, who thought it necessary to bite her before
curling up with her. He was her shadow and rarely did she have space by
herself. She comforted a very scared Great Dane by curling up with her when
she was especially nervous. She made sure everyone's face was clean every
day with a good face washing (including the dog).

Through the years she took medical treatment as needed without a growl or a
hiss. She tolerated my life style as a wildlife rehabilitator, with all
species of animals coming in and out without feeling threatened or getting
angry when they took my attention away from her. She put up with me trying
to get her to loose weight over the years, which consisted of diets and even
an attempt on the treadmill. (Which failed horribly)

The last two weeks of her life, we had tried to find out what was slowly
taking Emma away from us. She accepted force feedings and purred through
having fluids injected under her skin. When it became painful and hard to
breath, my attempts to comfort her were met with that loud reassuring purr.
We finally discovered that cancer, the devious thing that it is, was slowly
taking her life.

The wonderful Dr and staff and I helped Emma leave this world. She left this
world purring her comfort and reassurance.

I know she is in a better place and those of us she left behind are doing
our best to cope with her absence. There is never enough time with those we
love.

Michele Hurd

Tippi Kiriwas

She was born on May 19, 1995 and died on June 3, 2008

Candy

During the Hurricane I took some food to my elderly neighbor just around the corner. "Candy" my ASPCA special wanted to come with me. In the rain we ventured out. I ran and she ran right beside me finally reaching our destination.
She sat patiently beside me while I rang the door bell.
When we left for home we started to cross the street when a car was coming
immediately Candy sits down and hands me her paw, here I am standing on the side of the road holding my dogs paw, like a parent holding a childs hand.
As the car pulled into the driveway next to us I could see them laughing. Now that I think about it, I guess we did look sort of funny. Linda Reardon

My Best Friend is now at Rainbow Bridge. Her name is Candy, and her photo and story are on this page.

Her only fault was age, my guess around 13. We found her

at the ASPCA 10 years ago. Candy was the last among many they showed us. I honestly believed that her time was about up, so my daughters and I decided we would give her a try. She was much larger than I wanted, but before I could change my mind she was already in the back seat of my car with my daughters and some of the neighborhood kids.

The first week was not good, she tore my couch, refused to sleep anywhere else but my water bed, and helped herself to my kitchen sink; my dishes, pans, knives and forks would be neatly on my rug when I walked in from work, never breaking any of it. Remarkably, she was also able to turn out the kitchen light by hitting the switch with her paw. As the years went, thirteen to be exact, she eventually had problems which come from age. She became unsteady when walking, but always somehow made it to my room at night, woke me up in the morning, even at her worst (which was her last day with us) made it to the outside potty. Candy was my companion, my protector, my best friend.

Candy will always have a special place with us.

Thank you Animal Care Center for taking care of Candy through the years and for providing us with such support during such a stressful and heartbreaking time. When we brought Candy in her last day, the Veterinarian, and the staff were awesome.

Linda Reardon

June 27, 2005