We know that we have a difficult year ahead of us as many of the animals are starting to get old and some of them will leave us just like Sogno, Luna, Brio, Poppy, Trombino, Bobo and others did last year.

We’ve had many goodbyes over the past few months, some foreseeable, some not, all of them sad… – yet we always find the strength to face the things that break our heart.

Today we have to give you the sad news of Pompadour’s passing away this past Saturday. In the end we had to accept that his time had come. Pompadour was about 15 years old and was rescued along with his friend Trombino for the horrors of animal testing at Green Hill.

During the past few weeks we did whatever was necessary to try and make his life a little easier: we went back and forth between here and the veterinary clinic of Università di Pisa – to which we would like to express our immense gratitude – at least once a week, because Pompadour continued to have the crises we mentioned in the previous post about him. Until three days ago, when we had him hospitalised for the umpteenth time, because he had a stomach full of air and another very serious crise. The vet explained to us that at this point to make him heal the only solution was a very risky surgery that obviously he would not survive. So we had to say goodbye to him…

Needless to say how shattering it was. In the last few months, Pompadour slept at home with us and during the day did as he pleased: sleeping at the house, walks in the sun at the shelter,  strolls around the neighbourhood. He was surrounded by a love so intense that it was obvious he felt it. It is the reason why, despite the endless health problems, he kept on going and didn’t want to leave us just yet.

Every time we went to see him in the clinic, his eyes exploded with vitality and joy as soon as he saw us. Three times a day, at least we spent a little time with him, squeezing in a few precious minutes between shifts at the shelter, office work and other duties. Every time he regained the strength to go on thanks to the love surrounding him.

Writing this we’re shedding tears of pain and of joy: we wish all other individuals were as fortunate as him. His presence will be missed immensely…

Now he is free from the pain of a body that could no longer contain his vitality. We buried him in the shade of a tree near his friend of the heart Trombino.

We are not only grateful to the veterinarians but also to  Enrico di Ravenna, who has been supporting not only Pompadour over the past few years but also Trombino. His support will now continue with Tombola.

Lastly, thank you to all of you who are reading this and living this goodbye with us…