Touched By Death

  We just got an email yesterday from my dad in Korea.  My mother's not doing well and her time may be soon.  I don't know if any my readers out there are much for praying, but if you are, please pray for her that she can know that she's loved and be as pain-free and comfortable as possible in her time here.
  I haven't been touched by death very often in my short 34 years.  My grandparents have all died within my lifetime, but I wasn't really close to any of them.  I've known several other people who have died.  Ironically, it has been mostly animals whose deaths have affected me the most.
  I had a fish named Poly.  When he was close to the end, he would lay on his side and kinda swim around weakly.  I wanted to end his misery so I scooped him out of the tank with a net and dropped him in the toilet.  Right before I flushed, the last thing I saw was him looking straight at me.  We locked eyes and could feel love just radiating from him.  I pulled the handle and immediately broke down in tears.
  I had an animal whose name I won't mention for reasons of my own, who I had to have put down.  I'm deliberately being vague about a lot of the details.  The whole ride to the Humane Society, he was so excited.  When we got there, I had to fill out some papers.  Iwas giving him nothing but praise.  He was so happy as one of the attendants led him down the hall to the killing chamber.  That was my last picture of him.  When I got back to the car, I couldn't keep it together anymore.  I crumbled.
  Feel free to share any thoughts you have on the subject.  How have you been affected by loss?