We took Freddy (the cat on the right) to the Animal Emergency place. We were so happy to get Freddy back when we arrived Monday night, but since then he's appeared more week and having trouble with his back legs.

It looked like he was either in pain or having trouble defecating. We took him in to see just how serious it was. He has health issues, chief among them his red blood cell count is only 1/4 of what it should be while all other cell counts from the bloodwork are good.

While we were waiting for the Doctor to sort out Freddy, an older woman came in with her schnauzer... bleeding on her coat. He had been attacked, apparently by a coyote. One bite went to his throat, slashes on his side. We could smell the blood. Together my wife and I wept as quietly as we could.

It was a long night. We hope the schnauzer survives. Freddy... his kidneys are failing, he has a heart murmur, he's 16... and the red blood cell count may be from cancer.

When Frisco (the cat on the left) died, my wife was stuck in a 20 min. memory lapse loop. She'd be fully awake, but then my wife would act confused and ask where Frisco was. Then I had to break the news to her that Frisco had died, she was with me when he was euthanized, that she had forgotten, but it was OK and I'd remember for us both. We would both cry, she'd be ok... then start the loop again. She has no recollection of those two days, but she remembers that Frisco is gone, fall 2020.

As I age, I find so many things I thought were important in my 20's simply doesn't matter, while things I found irrelevant then make all the difference in the world to me now. Life's funny that way.

Hug your loved ones, and your animal friends. Life comes at you fast.