I'm very sorry to hear about this tough situation you are in Rochr. You are not taking up space. This is totally understandable. My pets are like my children as well. It is hard to lose them. They truely do become one of the family. Elsina... that is so sad... There is much truth in what you said about what a tiny animal can evoke in just a short time. There was a stray kitty that hung around our house. He really took a liking to us and we would let him in the house now and then. He had no problem making himself at home. About 7 months after he adopted us.... he was outside and all of a sudden he jumped up on the ledge outside our dining room window. He really startled me. But upon looking closer I noticed that he had blood coming from his mouth. I opened the window and brought him in the house and examined him. He was breathing short gasping breaths. Then I found it.... He had a hole in his chest. There was sand and small pebbles around his mouth and upper body... He had been run over by a car. We took him to the vet and the vet put him in the pet hospital and cared for him. He had a punctured lung on top of the other injuries. The vet didn't see a lot of hope for his survival but said that she would do what she could. He had 2 surgeries and was in the hospital for about 2 1/2 weeks. The vet had to drain fluid off his lungs during this time. Finally he was released from the hospital. His condition was delicate but he was going to survive. He now lives with us indoors and faithfully loves us. We love him back. Our pets can really have a very big impact in our lives.... an impact that you would never expect.

There are 10 kinds of people: Those who know binary, and those who don't. 

A whiner is about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse kicking contest.