My Gift to Sprocket

It is not easy for me to write this. Yesterday morning I decided that it was time to put our 17 year old cat, Sprocket, to sleep. I have been feeling that it was time for several weeks, but I was just trying to deny the situation. She just kept getting thinner and thinner and most pathetic. I couldn't let her go on.

Steve and I took her at the end of the day for her final ride in the car. She has been a fine cat, very much a queen in a household of loud, big smelly dogs and other cats. The dogs knew who was boss and it wasn't any of them. Sprocket had really sharp claws!

How this connects with networking is that it's about relationships. We love the vets we use. They are country vets. Not too expensive and while they love animals, they understand that they are animals. I do like one of the vets much better than the other. He's personable, remembers names, and shows that he really likes your pet as much as you do. Yesterday it wasn't his day to work and we got the vet who is more a clinician. He is very good at what he does, but he does not know my name, nor does he remember anything about us. (Believe me, even though their rates are reasonable, we have certainly contributed to their success over the years. He should know us!) On the way home cradling Sprocket's body in my lap, I felt badly that I hadn't thought ahead to ask which vet was on duty. I would have felt much better about Doc Martin's loving touch.

Isn't that what relationships are all about?