Instrumentation: Violin, Vibraphone, and Harp
Duration: 5’45”
Performances:
- Members of the International Contemporary Ensemble
The Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat, 2023
Program Note:
My wife and I are on a mission to rescue as many senior animals as we can and give them the love and attention they deserve in their final years. In our seven years of marriage, we have had four cats and four dogs (although never that many at once). Our cat Willow, whom we adopted in early 2017, was our first senior. She was 14 when we rescued her and almost 20 when she passed in the summer of 2022. Lulu (14) followed in 2019, she was our first senior dog and she passed away from cancer later that same year. Toby, a scrappy German Shepherd, came next in 2020 and he passed from a nasal tumor in 2022. In December of 2022 we adopted Princess Buttercup, a spunky 15-year-old Beagle/Jack Russell Terrier mix. Our first pet together was Nubbins. We adopted her shortly after our wedding. She wasn’t a senior then, but at age 14 she certainly is now. We also have two more cats: Sawadee (around 7) and Pearl (around 3). Our dog Luna was only 3 when we adopted her in 2018. She is already starting to get white stars on her muzzle.
In addition to these pets my wife and I have rescued, I grew up with animals. We had a cat named Mrs. Abe (due to a black chin against beautiful white fur on her face giving the illusion of a beard) and a dog named Libby (another Beagle). Mrs. Abe passed in 2007 and Libby followed in 2010. Just before Libby’s passing we adopted two kittens: Scout and Finnegan. Finnegan and I bonded and were inseparable. He passed from a sudden stroke in 2021. Scout is still doing fine but she misses her brother. In 2010 my sister and her husband adopted a dog named Sawyer. He passed just this year.
Needless to say, after all of the love we give these wonderful souls, losing them is profoundly difficult and painful. The Queen (who also passed in 2022) said that “grief is the price we pay for love.” After losing six beloved pets I can say with some authority that the grief is a fair price to pay for their love.
I’m not a religious man but I find the concept of “rainbow bridge” to be comforting. I can see them all in my imagination. Toby and Lulu are chasing squeaker toys while Libby eagerly gobbles up Pup-Peroni treats and Sawyer chews up a pillow. Willow and Mrs. Abe are sleeping in the sun and Finnegan is running with boundless energy. I can see myself there too, reunited with these furry souls, as we go over rainbow bridge together.
Kyle Wernke
April, 2023