narrative essay- a death in the family
A Death in the Family
I have cried bitterly only twice in my life: once when my old girlfriend left me and once when my cat died. Mop was very special to me. Her death taught me not to delay getting proper care for loved ones.
Mop came into my life as a kitten. Her mother died when she was very small, so I raised her all by myself. I took her to work every day and gave her milk every hour for two or three weeks until she was big enough to stay home. When Mop was two or three years old, I took in a stray Tom cat and Mop soon got pregnant. Mop got sick shortly after she had kittens. Her kittens all died and she got weaker and weaker. She ate and drank very little and spent most of her time lying on the floor and staring into space. I thought about taking her to the vet, but I did not want to spend all that money and I hoped that she would eventually just get well on her own. Finally, she looked so sick and unhappy that I gave in and took her to the vet. He said she was too far gone and would soon die. I took her home and watched her carefully. A day or two later, she died in my arms. As I held her thin body in my hands, I remembered all the fun we had and the times I was mean to her. I felt my heart breaking and I cried hard for ten minutes. Then I wrapped her in a plastic bag and took her to Monkey Mountain, where I buried her in an unmarked grave beside a trail.
I felt bad about waiting so long to take Mop to the vet and I decided that if any of my pets or family members got sick, I would not wait to take them to the doctor. If I had acted sooner, Mop might still be alive, or at least she would not have suffered so much for so long. (346)
I have cried bitterly only twice in my life: once when my old girlfriend left me and once when my cat died. Mop was very special to me. Her death taught me not to delay getting proper care for loved ones.
Mop came into my life as a kitten. Her mother died when she was very small, so I raised her all by myself. I took her to work every day and gave her milk every hour for two or three weeks until she was big enough to stay home. When Mop was two or three years old, I took in a stray Tom cat and Mop soon got pregnant. Mop got sick shortly after she had kittens. Her kittens all died and she got weaker and weaker. She ate and drank very little and spent most of her time lying on the floor and staring into space. I thought about taking her to the vet, but I did not want to spend all that money and I hoped that she would eventually just get well on her own. Finally, she looked so sick and unhappy that I gave in and took her to the vet. He said she was too far gone and would soon die. I took her home and watched her carefully. A day or two later, she died in my arms. As I held her thin body in my hands, I remembered all the fun we had and the times I was mean to her. I felt my heart breaking and I cried hard for ten minutes. Then I wrapped her in a plastic bag and took her to Monkey Mountain, where I buried her in an unmarked grave beside a trail.
I felt bad about waiting so long to take Mop to the vet and I decided that if any of my pets or family members got sick, I would not wait to take them to the doctor. If I had acted sooner, Mop might still be alive, or at least she would not have suffered so much for so long. (346)