Today I finished the portrait of Mini, beloved cat of Emily Moren, DVM. She is surrounded by hellebores, the flower that was planted in Mini’s honor after she went to the Bridge.
This is what Emily wrote about how special Mini was to her,
and how she got her name:
“Minnie was brought into a veterinary hospital where I worked when she was a few weeks old. She was crusted in fleas and flea dirt and very malnourished. I raised her up into a beautiful healthy cat who adored me as much as I adored her. When we had guests over, she would sit and mingle. At night when it was time for bed, she would meow and run to the bedroom telling me that she wanted me to come too. She slept with me under the covers every night. When I had my first daughter, Mini sat with us in the middle of the night when I needed to be awake.
When I first got Minnie, I named her Mystery. However, over her first few years my friends dubbed her Mini Moren because she was my little shadow and we were inseparable. I remember when I met my husband, I told him the worst thing you can do is be jealous of my cat. He never was and she died with us in our bed one night several years ago. I still think I see her out of the corner of my eye every once in a while.
The hellebore is her memorial plant. When she died, my mom sent me this beautiful black hellebore to plant over her ashes. When it blooms I feel like she's here with me.”
After I sent a jpg of the finished portrait for her approval, Emily emailed back:
