Lucy Dondzila Memorial Page

While this page is not really related to anything game related,
I wanted to have a small memorial for my recently deceased cat Lucy

I have had cats for many years, and for awhile I was doing volunteer
work for the local kennel. I was fostering kittens and their moms.



I have seen Siamese cats many times but never up close. Lucy came to
me in a carrier with 5 kittens. She was hiding under a blanket so I never
saw her face when I brought them all home. When I put them in my office
I left the carrier open and left them alone for a few hours with the
door closed as I always did with new fosters. When I returned, the then
unnamed Lucy was missing from the carrier but the kittens were still there.



Somehow she managed to squeeze underneath a dresser alongside the carrier,
not an easy feat because the molding along the bottom was only about 3 inches
from the floor. Well, whatever I figured she's the mom and she'll some out
when they get hungry.



So I am working on my computer for an hour or so and still no sign of the Siamese
cat and the kittens are still asleep. Suddenly I have that "feeling" that I am being
watched. I turn around and see this little chocolate face peeking out from under the
dresser with the most amazing blue eyes I have ever seen ! We stared at each other for
a moment, and something just clicked. Looking back over the years, Lucy was always a
very timid cat, always afraid of her shadow, yet at the moment she emerged from her
hiding place walked over to me and jumped on my lap and started purring while I pet her.
It was love at first sight. Lucy has never done this to anyone else, Siamese cats are
famous for bonding with a single person and she bonded with me.



Later that evening this amazing little cat carried all five of her kittens out of the
kennel and brought them under the dresser with her. After she moved the first kitten
I figured out where this was going so I lined one side of the floor under the dresser
with a couple of old sweaters and sweatshirts and she put them all in this little "nest".



I didn't see much of the kittens for the first couple of weeks, but once they started
walking they emerged from their home and began exploring and playing. I've fostered many
kittens over the years but these were by far the five most beautiful I have ever seen.



Lucy and her kittens lived with me for about 3 months until they were old enough to be
adopted. It's never been easy to give up fosters for adoption but we always screened
candidates thoroughly to make sure they were going to good homes. We posted pictures
on Petfinder.com and all five kittens never saw the inside of the kennel cages, we had
new families waiting at the kennel to bring them to their new homes !



In the past the foster Moms always went back to the kennel for adoption, but not Lucy.
This amazing little girl found her way into my heart and I just couldn't give her up.



Lucy lived with me happily for seven years. She was the sweetest, most gentle, loving
cat I have ever known.



About a year ago I discovered a lump in her belly. We went to the vet and to make a long
story short learned that she had very malignant mammary cancer. The doctor removed
the tumor and the affected gland but warned me that this cancer would return. It could
be months, it could be years but it would be back. And several weeks ago, it came back,
and with a vengeance. The cancer spread into her lungs and her kidneys as well. The tumors
got so big that she was beginning to have trouble breathing. The doctor didn't think she was
in pain, but she was definitely very uncomfortable.







I saw her X-Rays last year, and seeing the new X-Rays showed how devastating this terrible
disease affected her little body. I made the most painful decision of my life and knew these
would be our final moments together. The doctor gave her a tranquilizer and I held her and told
her how much I loved her and how much I would miss her.

Lucy died in my arms peacefully April 3, 2009 around 6:30pm.



I am not a very spiritual person but it had been raining throughout the day and when I left
the vet just ahead of me was a large clearing in the dark clouds with the sun shining through
and the biggest, brightest most incredible rainbow I have ever seen. I'd like to think that
somehow, someway, someone was letting me know that she's now in a better place with other
family, friends and pets who have passed on.



These last 2 pictures are the final pictures that I took of Lucy. I had a bad feeling before I
took her to the vet so decided to snap a few more shots just in case. I honestly thought
we would have a few more weeks together.



Goodbye Lucy, I love you.