First Sunday of October

This day has been spent a bit disjointed and a bit of a whirlwind. I am getting ready to leave on Wednesday to go to Fresno with four of the does for my granddaughters to show at the Fresno Fair. So I have been tying up loose ends, getting stuff ready to go in the trailer tomorrow. Clipped a couple of kids and so forth.

Then I took Spinner for a walk. Not unusual, do it every day. She is coming on 10 years in a week and for a giant breed dog that is a nice senior age. So every day she gets a walk out of the farm, she has been our trusted livestock guardian since she came at 4 months of age in training. Now at ten she deserves.

Yesterday when we set out on our walk we had gotten to the top of the drive and I spied a sight that sent chills through me. A small white furry lifeless body on the opposite side of the road. Could it be our Snowy River, one of the two remaining barn cats? She never seemed to venture that far but then . .




So I picked up the white fluff and carried her down the hill toward the house. Shaken but taking note- wait this cat had a medium haired tail with a spot of blond on it. She also had a blond spot on her nose.Breathing a sigh of relief I realized this wasn't our Snowy. I put the lifeless body in a small bag with a note to Geoffrey(he was out walking Ari) that it was a hit by car cat but not ours. He buried the nameless kitten and that was that.

Until today, on our walk. I was inspecting the skeletal structure of a house across the street by our mail box. It is an older home and being rehabbed by the current owner. I had always wondered what the insides were like and since the windows are missing I took the liberty of a peek inside. While I was nosing round a neighbor child , boy of about ten; you know the two front teeth were plunging into adulthood but the rest of them were still baby teeth; came riding up on his bike.

His smile was slow and I, somewhat embarrassed at my act of snooping, smiled back and mumbled something about how I was always curious about this house. We chatted a few moments and as he put down the kickstand on his bike rather awkwardly asked if I had seen a white cat. My heart sank, his eyes were wide with hope. How do I tell him, this child with hope in his heart.

I dug deep inside and told him the bitter truth. How I had found her , I now know her name Zoey, and how we buried her not knowing where she lived. His eyes dropped, his chin quivered, as he drew himself up as if standing taller would make him stronger. I went on "I work at a veterinary hospital and from her injuries I would say she didn't suffer, was dead when the vehicle struck her, so don't worry about that." Boy, did my words ring hollow in my ears. "It's o.k." he bravely replied , chin quivering and tears welling up in his eyes. "No" said to him "it is not o.k. May I give you a hug?" He nodded and I hugged him and shared with him how we had lost two of our dogs this year. "I am so sorry" I mumbled. He thanked me and climbed on his bike heading home.  

It was an amazing meeting. He so young yet so strong. Me older and as the day wore on sadder. I thought of how this is just the beginning of this dance for him, there will be other cats and other heartbreaks. But I trust that he took some comfort knowing that she was cared for in her end of life. And I took some comfort in knowing that young man didn't have to come upon her and could remember Zoey for who she was.