August 1st started out like any other day. It was sunny and warm, the sky was blue with no clouds. It was the perfect day to play outside!

I got up, ate my breakfast, and rushed to get dressed. I wanted to play with my friends outside. We ride our bikes and jump on my trampoline.

I raced to the back door to get my shoes on and there sat Mattie. She rubbed up against my leg and purred loudly. I bent down and picked her up to pet her. She meowed softly. Her fur was as soft as silk. She was so cute, I could hug her forever!!!!!!!!!

My mom looked sad. She said, "Aedin, Mattie is very sick." I looked at her with my big blue eyes and said, "What's wrong with her?" My mom just sat there staring at Mattie. It looked like there were tears in her eyes. She told me to have fun outside and so out the door I went, not thinking anything was wrong.

Since I was a baby, Mattie has always been with me. She was my best friend. She protected me and was always by my side. When I was sad, she would meow and jump on my lap, nudging my face and purring. It was like she was saying, "It's going to be okay." I could lay on her and mess with her tail. She never got upset with me. She was the best cat ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was having fun playing with my friends outside when my dad got home from work. He drives for Coca-Cola so he got out earlier than usual. He said "Hi" to all of us and went in the house to change his clothes. Then he asked me to come inside. He and mom wanted to talk to me. My dad said, "Aedin, Mattie is sick and she's hurting. We think it's time to put her to sleep." I didn't know what he was saying.

Why does she need to go to sleep? She's a cat and sleeps most of the time! He said he was going to take her to the vet and that they were going to give her some medicine to help her to cross the rainbow bridge. I started to cry because I realized he meant she was going to die. I ran to Mattie and picked her up. I held her tight as tears streamed down my cheeks. My mom was crying too.

My dad asked me if I wanted to help him dig a hole to bury Mattie in and I said, "Yes and can she be buried in my favorite blanket?" I had a fuzzy, red blanket that had a kitten on it. Dad thought that was a good idea. He said, "Why don't we cut it half? You can keep half of it so you can cuddle with it when you miss her." I said, "Yes."

We dug the hole and then dad put Mattie in her cat carrier. We all got a moment to hug her and pet her before they left.

When dad got home, we buried her in the hole we dug earlier and said our final goodbyes. Mom wrote Mattie's name on a special rock that I found when I was digging and we placed it on top of the dirt.