Bittersweet…

I have never felt so happy & sad at the same time…Jasper, our sweet, beautiful black boy has finally found his forever home after being with us for 5 months. Patiently waiting for his person. In the meantime, working his way into my heart so deeply, it’s a bitterwseet good-bye. Jasper’s adoption is hitting me so hard I’m an emotional MESS today!

My heart is so full of joy that he’s finally in a loving, happy home & at the same time it’s the hardest good-bye I’ve ever had to face since I started at PSP as Store Coordinator for Ten Lives. I’ve been particularly picky about potential adopters for him – he’s a very special boy & I wanted to make CERTAIN he went to the perfect forever home.

I took him for a home visit yesterday – knowing that they met every criteria – but have a male cat, which has not gone over well with Jasper while he was in the cat room. He was THE KING of the cat room – period. No room for other males, uh uh. He would get along fine with other adult FEMALES & all of the kittens, but not so well with other males that came to us. This was the test…I had no idea how he would react & prepared myself for the worst. Turns out, the OTHER male cat (who is normally very sweet & mild mannered) was the aggressor. Which would be expected – it’s HIS territory. Jasper, even when being hissed at, kept his cool and was not phased. AT ALL. I was blown away…And very proud of him!

That created another issue, however. Would Coleman (their other cat) accept Jasper with time? It was, after all, a trial by fire. You can’t expect 2 cats to automatically get along immediately. It just won’t happen. Or rarely. So I asked if they would like to keep Jasper over the weekend & see if Coleman starts to settle down. The couple happily agreed. Normally, under no circumstances would I EVER do that. But this was a special situation & I know the woman – she’s a groomer at the PSP store for our adoption location.

I could hardly keep myself from calling to check in the minute I got out of bed this morning. I restrained myself until about 1pm…I left a message & anxiously waited for her call back. Listening to Adele the entire time wasn’t helping either…

She called me back about an hour later with great news – Jasper has made himself right at home (he was already before I left yesterday – ha!). But they also have a dog who they’d kept in another room while we introduced the cats to each other. Turns out, Jasper & Berlin (their dog) have become best buds! Jasper rubs on her & they play very well together. He slept right on top of her husband last night & has investigated every part of the house from top to bottom. She said, “He’s got such a BIG personality!”. (I’ve known that all along, but interesting she would use the very same expression as I had so many times…)

They couldn’t part with Jasper now – he’s worked his magic on the entire household in less than 12 hours flat…He’s not going anywhere.

I could barely keep the quiver out of my voice as I tried not to burst into tears while I was talking to her. I think she picked up on that anyway…Especially when I asked if I could come visit him to say good-bye. I hadn’t thought about that until I was about halfway home last night – that I may not ever see him again. Why didn’t I pick him up & kiss him one last time before I left??? I was a mess from that point on…Hoping with all of my heart it would turn out to be his forever home but at the same time kicking myself for not telling him good bye if that turned out to be the case. Thankfully it was – but I didn’t tell him good-bye & hold him one more time. She, of course, is more than happy for me to stop by to tell Jasper good-bye & I’m welcome to come visit anytime…

I just need to say good-bye to him. That’s all. I know he is very happy & in a loving home now. He’s where he’s meant to be – finally getting the forever home he deserves…But he will always hold a very special place in my heart.

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