Valentino's Journey-Part 3

This is the third and final post in a series about Valentino, Mom's favorite kitty at the shelter. You can read part one here and part two here.

On Friday, Mom made brownies for Dr. Pickett and Danny to thank them for their kindness. She took them to the shelter that afternoon. After dropping off the brownies at the vet clinic, she headed back to memorial services with a couple other volunteers. When she got there, Danny wasn’t there and Valentino’s ashes weren’t ready to be picked up. However, since she was there, she decided to ask for a tour of the facility. She was impressed at the services they provide and their level of professionalism. Just as she stepped out of the chapel room, Ryker’s mom walked in. They spent some time chatting and trying not to cry-not just about Valentino, but about other pets of theirs that had gone over the Rainbow Bridge as well. The circumstances brought up a lot of memories for both of them.

Our moms talked about what to do with Valentino’s ashes. Mom had wanted him cremated by himself because she couldn’t bear to think about his ashes being buried with a bunch of other ashes. She suggested scattering his ashes somewhere. Ryker’s mom felt like Valentino’s ashes should go home with Mom if that was what she wanted. Mom didn’t want Ryker’s mom left out though and felt bad taking them herself. Since she had to wait until Monday to even pick them up, she knew she had time to think about the situation.

Monday morning, Mom drove over to the shelter. She picked up Valentino’s remains and went straight home. When she got home, she opened the box and found an envelope that said “Valentino Palmer.” She was stunned. She never expected them to give Valentino her last name. The certificate in the envelope also mentioned Valentino being part of the Palmer family. She thought his name should be Valentino Volunteer since so many volunteers and staff loved him. But there it was, in black and white. She felt like it was a sign that she should keep his ashes like Ryker’s mom had said.

Mom has decided to keep Valentino’s ashes in the office where she helps me blog and tweet. She plans on getting a special shelf to sit them on so he can be a constant source of inspiration to us. With Valentino so close by, we will be reminded of why we do the work we do for homeless pets. We want them all to have families of their own, somebody to wait for at the Rainbow Bridge.