Today was my day to volunteer at our local Animal Shelter. I've been doing this for a couple of months now and really enjoy it. I mainly focus my attention on the cats and puppies, because that's what's needed most right now. (They already have plenty of dog walkers, and that works out fine for me because with my back being a bit delicate I don't want to risk getting jerked & ending up like I was earlier in the Fall!)
Today I was scheduled for afternoon instead of my usual morning hours and I was amazed at the difference a few hours made! When I arrived all of the cats were sound asleep, a huge contrast to mornins when vying for attention - wanting to play, bouncing around in their cages, meowing, etc.! As I was reading their cards & catching up on new arrivals a ball of fluff started to stir and Audrey, a long-haired calico who has been living there nearly 3 weeks, woke up. I got her out of her cage and she snuggled up against me purring like crazy. I sat in the rocking chair and petted her for quite a while - we were both in Heaven! Since the other cats were all still sleeping there was no need to "share the love" - they were perfectly content and so was I.
As we rocked I realized that my eyes were getting misty. Hmm.. what was that about? It only took a couple of minutes to figure it out - petting her felt just like petting Callie, our elderly cat (nearly 19 yrs. old) who passed away in '09 and who I still miss. Stroking the incredibly soft, silky fur and slender frame brought back so many good memories! This little "pound kitty" girl is 7 years old and was turned in because her owner was no longer able to care for her. To me these are the saddest cases - it's easy to find homes for puppies and kittens, but when a pet has a few years under its belt people tend not to be as interested in them even though an older pet is often more docile and well behaved than the younger ones.
When I got home I told DH all about her and guess what he, who just a few months ago, said "no more cats", said? "Bring her home!" WHAT?? You could've knocked me over with a feather! I don't know whether it was her photo or hearing about how much like Callie she was, or if it was just the way he was feeling at that moment. I don't know that we'll actually get a cat - we had decided not to - but anyway it was interesting hearing those words come from his mouth! We (or at least I) would have to discuss it further before making such a big decision. In the meantime it's fun to think about!
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