His name was Blackie (or Blackey as my sister spelled it) and he was one of my best friends. I'm not sure how I'm ever going to get over his death or if I'll be able to connect/love another pet as much as I did him.

He had surgery a month ago to remove bladder stones but began deteriorating the last two weeks. After going to the vet three days ago and being told his symptoms were "normal," we decided to take him again Tuesday morning. We were then told that this whole time he had…