Fridays are writing day, so I usually won’t blog today. However, I do have a quick story to tell.
Two weeks ago on a Friday, my kitty, Asiago, disappeared. At 3:30AM, I woke and saw him at my feet on the bed. When I woke up fully at 7AM, he was gone. Since this wasn’t unusual, I didn’t become concerned until midday. Asiago missed dinner as well as breakfast, and I began to panic. Cappy, our puppy, had escaped and been at large in the community from 1:30 until the morning. We heard reports that he chased the bear, dodged a spraying skunk (we’d suspected that) and pooped in several yards which were not ours.
My sweet honey-bunny and I started off by just calling for him off and on over the weekend. The skies opened on Saturday and Sunday, sending heavy rain and hail down to dim our hopes even more. Saturday, we reported him missing at the animal shelter, and Monday, my sweet honey-bunny created a gorgeous little flyer that I took up and down our street.
By the following Monday, I became convinced that a cat I’d seen in the listings of the Steamboat Springs Animal Shelter was Asiago. I showed the picture to my sweet honey-bunny and she agreed. We drove over, but found merely a six-month old yellow tabby kitten. Darling? Yes. Adorable? Yes. Asiago? No.
After tearing myself away from the little bundle of love, we got back into the car and I reported him missing at my vet. They didn’t have high hopes, and I sighed as I hung up the phone. Frankly, the tears almost escaped a couple of times, but I was determined not to give up hope.
Finally, on the tenth day, I spent some time playing ball with Cappy. Since it is premiere week for the television shows, I decided to play ball until dark during the commercial breaks (yes, it is another “do nothing chore” - Love them!). We went outside and Cappy ran after the ball for his allotted three to five minutes. Then we went back in and I completed washing the dishes while I watched the show.
At the next commercial break, I grabbed our Chuck-It ball thrower and headed back to the door. When I opened the door, Asiago came running in, skittish but seemingly fine. I stood still and then screamed, “Asiago! Honey, Asiago!”
My sweet honey-bunny came running. A great celebration followed with laughter and tears and pets and a little bit of “Hey, get off me!” from Asiago. We closed the door and fed him wet food and several Greenies to celebrate. After a little catnip cigar, he settled back into his usual chair and took a nap.
<>A miracle. I certainly don’t see them every day, and I’d kind of given up hope that they could occur at all.
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