This is the first anniversary of Shadow's death. He lived for a bit more than six months, and was, at the time of his passing, the darling of the neighborhood. We will always miss him.

We now have four new cats -- "Panda", "Tabitha", "Speck", and "Adrian Monk". We got them in September, when their mother was killed by a car by Torrance library, and we fostered them from two week old kittens into the 30-plus pounds of cats they are now.

What we've discovered over the years is that pets prepare you for the best and worst in life. Their needs are simple, but their lives are short when measured by the yardstick of a human life.

That means that if you own a cat (or, rather, a cat owns you), be prepared for loss, but, if you can accept that possibility, be prepared for the affection of a peer.

Shadow's requem