The Story of a Dog...and a few other 4-leged friends

 

 I knew I was in trouble when my husband came into the Duckwall's where I worked during college and asked me how to pay for something with my employee discount...especially when I noticed the little pink cat collar in his hand.  Prince was our first rescued pet, and fortunately, he quickly outgrew the pink collar.  Somehow, we were talked into leaving him at the farm the following summer, and although we regretted leaving him, he became my father's best buddy, at just the time my dad needed a pet.

Lady

I had grown up with pets at the farm, both cats and dogs, but never house pets.  Eventually my husband and I began thinking about getting a dog.  I think we rationalized that a dog could be left outside in the yard and would be easier to take care of than a house cat with a litter box.  Lady, our second rescue, became a house dog almost immediately.  She had been dumped in the middle of nowhere in winter in a cardboard box, with her mother and two other pups, with no food and no shelter.  Fortunately, the man who checked the pump site where they were left arrived soon enough to rescue them.  She was smart, beautiful, gentle, and ready to try whatever we suggested, including riding with us on our motorcycle.

Lady got us through college, the Air Force, living in NYC, Law School, and getting us settled into our careers.  I'm not sure we could have managed without her.

During our marriage we have had 2 dogs and 5 cats, and only one of those pets was a pedigreed dog.  We bought Abbey because she reminded us of Lady, but our careers meant that she was often left alone.  One night, while she was outside, she began barking at a black and white kitten hiding in the bushes.  We rescued him, intending to find him a home, but the home we found was our own.  We named the cat Remington, and after a few days getting acquainted, he and Abbey became pals.

Abbey & Remington

 Black Kitty and Jacob were stray kittens adopted when the mother cat abandoned them.  A neighbor threatened calling the city animal catcher because the pair of kittens were spending too much time at  his bird feeder.  I tried to find them homes, but no one wanted the half-wild kittens.  We were about to move, so the only solution was to take them with us.  They moved from Georgia to North Carolina to  Texas, and finally to Kansas.  They spent days outdoors but nights in the garage, and they seemed perfectly satisfied with that accommodation.  The last of the four finally became an indoor cat, and when she died, we were retired and decided not to get another pet.  We had never liked boarding our pets when we travelled, so we agreed not to have another pet for a while and to enjoy traveling.

Until, one icy cold December after midnight, we were returning from a weekend in Kansas City, and  only a few miles from home we saw a little grey and white kitten sitting by the side of the road.  We stopped, only to discover that he was a full-grown tom cat and he was clearly sick, but we decided to  get him healthy and find him a home.  As you may have guessed, we did.  Ours!

I shared these stories to remind people how wonderful rescued pets can be.  How fortunate Pratt is to have Manager, Alexis Moss and all the others that make the Pratt Humane Society possible.  Even if you don't need a pet right now, you might consider calling your local Humane Society (in Pratt, 620-672-6777) to see how you might help.  For those of you who live out of state, I am sure there are Animal societies near you who would love your help, and who have wonderful animals hoping for someone to love them.

An interesting idea found on Face Book