max s. gerber(the latest shot)

today winona lost a long fight with kidney failure. i’d been giving her subcutaneous fluids every other day for a year and a half, but over the last month she deteriorated quickly. this morning i made the difficult decision to end her suffering. it was impossibly sad to see her decline so much, she could barely do more than lift her head up, she hadn’t eaten for five days, though to the very end she still had her wits about her, had the same incredible presence and personality that kept me company for almost two decades. with her around i never really felt alone, it always felt like i had a partner in crime. most of the time it felt like she took better care of me than i did of her, but i tried. we were way too attached to each other, i’ll admit.

winona was seventeen years, two months and ten days old. the things she gave me were immeasurable.

goodbye, ‘nona.