Oh, Jen, I know how hard it is to lose a famalies beloved pet...

My Mom & Dad had to put thier beloved dog, Sonny to sleep right before the family vacation from Hell!

I was sworn not to tell either my sister or brother of his \"passing\". My parents figured with all that they are going through, respectively, that they \"should not be bothered\" with the death of our family dog!!! (I think it was a lot harder for us - having to actually watch his aging & suffering...)

The poor thing was 16 years old, over 120 pounds, his hip dysplacia was so bad he could barely stand anymore, he had cancerous tumors all over his poor feet, and a whole host of  other problems with his poor labored breathing...

He was just such a faithful, amazing dog, he would never \"show\" his pain, and his ticker just REFUSED to stop ticking!!!

Anyway, my Mom wound up taking one of our kittens, which has been very helpful to her and my Dad (who supposedly HATES Cats) to get over the loss of Sonny.

I wish your parents were not all the way on the other side of the country, or I would give them one of these wonderfully sweet kittens, which might help take thier minds off thier loss...