Usako was born under the junction of two teenagers’ beds pushed together in a room that held three teens in the household. Her mother had been brought home when she was 8 weeks old and when she was of age, Usako’s mother got pregnant just before her appointment with the vet to get fixed.
Usako was named by the first of my family to call her ‘mine’ because her ears were the same size as a kitten as they are now. She also liked to hop around and startle people with her agility. Thus, she was named ‘baby bunny’. (It should also be noted that we were all huge weebs as teens and not much has changed in that regard.)
Usako has lived with at least one member of my family for the entirety of her 18 years of life. She is also the longest lived pet in my family including against my parents’ childhood pets, with the previous record being held by my mom’s dog Fluffy who died at 17 years old.
Usako has been declining as of late and has had 2 strokes this year at different times of the year. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be with us, but I am grateful for the time we’ve had together. Her fur is still as soft as it was when she was a kitten and she still loves to cuddle even if we have to take care of her claws when they catch of everything as she has less and less control over them due to age and the strokes.
Animals, especially the kinds that most humans keep as pets in the house, have a much shorter life span than us. It hurts each and every time I’ve lost an animal and I don’t expect that to change. But I would rather have them and hurt than not have them and feel empty. To me, the pain of loss teaches me to love while I can and cherish the memories after they’re physically gone.
I will miss her when she goes, but I will cherish the almost 2 decades that we had her.
Breathing In 