In memoriam

I’ve been grappling for almost a month with how to frame a recent enormous loss. I’m used to writing about heartbreak brought by the passing of a feline, but never thought I’d be writing about Maggie’s death. My rescue partner for almost 10 years, I thought we’d work side by side long into the future. But her unexpected passing on Oct. 31, at only 74, abruptly changed everything.

Since then I’ve been consumed with reinventing Coastside Feral Care with only me at the helm – a daunting task – and with drafting volunteers to help me keep driving her mission forward. I’ve seen the best of humankind in recent weeks as helpers and friends have stepped forward, offering to help do morning feedings, finish the trapping project she’d started, buy food, take over our accounting, and so much more.

When people ask what kind of person Maggie was, I tell them how she insisted on buying treats with her own money for the many homeless cats she fed every morning. Why? I asked her. “Because it makes them happy!” she smiled.

I’ll post more soon when the wagons have circled tightly, but in the meantime, here’s a photo of my partner and friend, boasting that amazing smile and eccentric style that she wore every morning, rain or shine, because she was all about the love.