On a sunny may afternoon, with the windows open and the finches singing and the branches of the old oak tree slowly swaying in the breeze outside, my spouse and I sat beside each other on our living room couch, with Tabs, our beloved cat of 12 years, between us. I cradled him in my arms with his head draped over my right shoulder (always the right, never the left), while El Hub held his paws. For most of the creatures in the world, that afternoon was business as usual, but for us, time slowed as we said our final...