Pet Talk

    The temperature dropped to zero, the full moon was shining on six inches of sparkling new snow, and inside the houses up and down the street families were gathered around kitchen tables, enjoying a quiet dinner while  furnaces  hummed away, bringing them comfort and warmth.
    Outside, tiny little paws crept up to the edge of the road, dashed across and ran towards a house, making her way to the porch, and then under the porch, looking for warmth where she could find it. No furnace to keep her warm, no hearty meal to fill her tiny belly, she meowed softly in the dark, alone, cold, her little feet almost frozen, the tips of her ears numb and brittle. She had no warm lap to curl up in, there was nothing but cold, brutal cold, and she shivered as she curled up and stuck her nose under her tail for warmth.
    It was the Christmas season and she was lost, she had been wandering for weeks now and slowly losing weight. Several times she narrowly escaped being hit by moving vehicles, she had been in several fights over scraps of food tossed into garbage cans, she had wounds that were slow to heal because her immune system was shutting down. She continued to purr to soothe herself, but inside she was terrified, hungry, and so very cold.
    And then it happened, just when she was about to give up hope, as the last bit of heat slipped out of her body, large gentle hands reached down and picked her up, cuddled her in a blanket, and placed her in a carrier. Too weak to protest, but frightened beyond imagination, her eyes grew wide and she backed up into the very farthest reaches of the carrier.  She heard sounds she had never heard before, music from a radio, the roll and thump of tires on a snow covered street, the vibration of the engine, the humming of the driver.
    Just as she started to relax, the sounds all stopped and she was being moved, carrier and all, into a large warm building. She could hear voices and see faces peering inside at her and she cowered even further to the back of the carrier. “Come on sweetie” she heard a tender voice say, “come on out, we won’t hurt you,” but she was too scared to move. 
    Slowly, gently, she was coaxed out of her carrier and if she was terrified before, this new turn of events was the icing on the horror cake because now she was out in the open, vulnerable, and standing on a table where strangers were examining her for sores, bites, fleas, and overall health.
    To her it must have felt like aliens had snatched her up, transported in a space ship, and was now going to be experimented on by beings from Mars. She wanted to bite, scratch, claw, escape, anything to find her way out of this place and away from these beings. But she was too scared to move and she just stood there, shivering, and slowly she realized that these people were here to help her, not hurt her and slowly her stiffened legs loosened up and she carefully lowered herself to the table and allowed herself to be touched.
    When she relaxed, she realized something new in her life, she was warm, totally warm. And then after a few minutes of examination she was cuddled and held and placed in a safe place with a fluffy blanket and food, lots of food, and fresh water! She gobbled at first, it had been weeks since she had real food, and she drank and drank, and then settled into a deep sleep, dreaming dreams of green grass and butterflies.
    When she awoke, there were a lot of strange noises, people talking, other kitties purring and meowing, music playing on the radio. She looked around and saw that there were others like her. A sweet lady came along and reached in to her, stroked her head, and said “I think we’ll call you Missy” and she picked her up and held her in her arms for the longest time. Missy saw a tear run down the lady’s face, tears for Missy because she was so thin, so tired, so frail. But the lady knew that in just a few days, with a lot of love and attention, good food, warm blankets, Missy would be as good as new.
    Animal Shelters across the country are full of Missys and full of the loving caretakers who save the Missys of the world. At this Christmas season I just want to say thank you to our staff, Angels one and all, Heather, Courtney, Caleb, Luanne and Steve, who care for these animals, bring them back to health, love them and cuddle them and feed them and find them new homes.  To our Volunteer Angels Nancy, Kate, and Bob. God Bless you for what you do. To the dozens upon dozens who come to the Shelter every week to walk dogs, pet cats, put water in bowls, work on fundraisers, bake for bake sales, all the things that you do so that all the Missys of the area can be taken care of, thank you so very much.
    And to that very special breed, all of you Animal Control Officers who get out of bed at 2 a.m. to respond to a dog hit by a car, who go into vacant homes to rescue animals who have been abandoned, who are running down the road at below zero temperatures to bring in an animal so terrified he might just eat you alive, who try to catch a cat and end up with a skunk, who have been bitten, clawed, and eliminated on, thank you all for your dedication and sacrifice.
    There are a lot of thankless jobs out there, animal welfare is not one of them. Missy is warm, loved, safe and will find a wonderful new home, hopefully very soon, and those who care for all of the stray, lost and abandoned animals will receive a special blessing, today, tomorrow, forever.
    Merry Christmas.