When my daughter reluctantly moved home for a short while after college she asked if she could bring with her a cat she had acquired from a college roommate named Simba.  I was a bit concerned because we had two other adult male cats already and was not sure they would adapt well to each other.  Snow, the oldest of our cats was already getting up there in years and our other cat, Cole, liked to pick on Snow.  When Simba came to live with us he immediately noticed this and started protecting Snow from Cole.  Simba didn't take any crap from Cole and very gracefully let Cole know it was not O.K. to pick on Snow.  You had to see it to believe it.  Simba won my heart in the first week he stayed with us and I was heart broken when my daughter moved out and took Simba with her.

A few years later, Chandra asked us if we could keep Simba for about three years, as they had gotten military orders to move to Ramstein, Germany. I couldn't wait for Simba to come and stay with us!  Simba was this big long haired cat that thought he was a dog.  At 18 pounds, he was larger than some dogs. He was part "Maine Coon" and was a loving soul. Simba liked to follow you around from room to room, so where ever I was Simba was close behind.  He loved to be brushed, in fact he brushed himself.  I would just hold the brush in place and he would go to work brushing himself against it.  He was with us for two and a half years and brought so much love into our lives I just wanted to thank my daughter for sharing him with us.

Cancer took Simba rather suddenly from us.  I think he was suffering much more than he let us know. In the end, I was so grateful for the services that Home to Heaven offer. I was very impressed with the compassion Dr. Cooney showed and how quickly she responded. I know she had another appointment that she put on hold to accommodate our needs, and truly appreciate that.  It was a very painful time for Simba and it was so difficult to see him in such pain.  Home to Heaven helped him pass in a more peaceful manner in the comfort of his home.  Our home feels void now...without him following me around, but Simba knows how much we loved him!  It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  Simba we love you always!

LaDonna and Ken D'Amato