In Loving Memory of 

        March 23, 2002 

AS WE WAIT FOR DARKNESS TO COME..............

Within the next few hours the veterinarian will be at our front door
and we must bid a final "Farewell" to our faithful, little friend Cyrus. 
How he changed our lives! and soon, by his absence they will change again.
His loving memory will be all that we have left to comfort us.

"Who was Cyrus?" you may ask.
Quite simply, he was what all of us strive to be in our own human lives.
First was his beauty.
Cyrus was a persian cat who spent the first three years of his life in the show ring.
His conformation and appearance were admired by all who saw him.
Next was his ability to trust.
When we adopted him, he was brought into a totally strange environment where he
immediately reached out to us as if to say, 
"I love you" and "I want to be with you".
Then was his determination.

Cyrus has been afflicted by a genetic liver disease for the past six years.
Persians who develop this do not live but for a short time after diagnosis.
Cyrus lived on such that we could have much more time to love 
and appreciate who he was to us.
Only in the past few months did the disease debilitate him to the point 
where he could no longer enjoy every moment that life had given him.

Lastly, was his unconditional and eternal love.
This is what we will miss the most.
The welcoming that we received upon arriving home,
the tender "fur ball" that lay gently in our laps,
the soft purr when we came near,
and the gentle sounds that he made as he lie in bed with us.

Although, in time, we will begin to realize how much more wonderful 
our lives have been because of him,
for now, and in the immediate future, we can only mourn for that which we have lost;
a true friend,
a wonderful companion,
and the love of our hearts.

Dear God, please let there be an after-life for of all your creatures.
For we do not know how we can bear eternity without our little Cyrus.
Cyrus, for your comfort, take a part of each of our souls with you and
rest in peace as you now wait for us to cross over and be with you again.

Your loving friends, Ron and Mary
pilgrim@wzrd.com