From Atticus to Samwise to Emily: How We Grow

Another photo winner announced, and a new recipe

Seven years ago this week, I had survived my maladies, just barely, and made it out of Maine Med. I’d been home since May 1 and reunited with Atticus. Neither of us was doing well. We’d both fallen sick simultaneously, which seemed natural since we were two bodies that shared one soul.

On Friday, the 13, seizure after seizure weakened Atticus, and we drove to meet the vets at North Country Animal Hospital after it closed. Our beloved Dr. Rachael Kleidon was out of state on maternity leave. So, at 5:30 pm, under the pine trees and a gentle spring rain, Atticus took his last breaths in my arms. (It was determined he had a brain tumor, and asking him to live a second longer was unfair.)

I held it together for my friend, but once in the car, I surrendered to immense grief and showers of tears. I’d been there for half an hour when one of the vets approached and asked if I was okay.

“I’ve never gone home without Atticus.”

I was lost.

The twenty-minute drive home took an hour because I could n…