In Memory of Ping

I am so sad today! Phil woke me up early Friday morning. "I have sad news," he said. I jumped up out of bed with a loud whisper, "NO!" "Ping is dead."

I knew something wasn't quite right. All day Thursday I had a terrible feeling about Ping. Elli didn't think he was ok either. She mothered him all day. We have several ideas on what went wrong, could have been a natural thing we don't really know.

My favorite things: 1. Watching Riley grow in his ability to take care of an animal - EVERYDAY! He would clean out Ping's bedding, take him for a walk and place him gently (best he could) back in his house with food and water.

2. Realizing how sensitive Elli could be to an animal. She loved him so much she was willing to touch him; then pick him up; then hold him like a mommy would hold a baby. Amazing.

I am so proud of both Elli and Riley and how they took Ping on as their own.

I'll also have to say that I did not realize how attached I would become. Maybe that's one reason I never wanted to have any animals! However, I would not have chosen to miss out on Ping's life.

We are all SO sad! We had a funeral for him. Elli and Riley both drew a picture and wrote a message to him. We buried him and the papers in our back yard! We will never forget our precious Ping! He meant so much to us. We will miss you Ping Hayes.