If you have ever lost a pet you know how hard it is to loose your best friend. So I decided to post this story I found on the internet. It makes you laugh and cry at the sametime.
If you're an animal lover, you know a pet can seem like a member of the family. If you have kids, too, the pet is often even more important and beloved.
That's how it was for the family of my friend Ginny. Skittles, the family cat, never lacked for chin scratches, snuggling or attention. Ginny's teenage daughter was especially close to Skittles.
One day not long ago Ginny's husband, Mike, came home and whispered that he needed to speak with her outside, out of the earshot of the kids. While driving home, he had seen Skittles on Lebanon Road near their Deerfield Township home. The cat had been hit by a car and killed.
Ginny and Mike went inside, told the kids that they had to run a quick errand, and headed out for the gruesome task of bringing their pet home.
To be sure, picking your dead cat up from a busy road is a horrible thing to have to do. But when you love an animal there are some unpleasant times, and Ginny and Mike wanted Skittles to be buried in the family yard. Skittles, they were appalled to see, had been run over several times and was almost beyond recognition. They used a shovel to place him in a box upon his favorite blanket, and headed home.
The kids didn't take the news well, especially the daughter. They said their tearful goodbyes and buried Skittles in the back yard, beneath a rosebush.
The rest of the day Ginny was terribly sad, and her daughter was inconsolable. Finally, after hours of listening to her daughter sob, Ginny told her, "Let's go up to the pound and pick out a new kitten. It's the only way we're going to get over losing Skittles."
Now, it's true that one pet cannot replace another or truly help you grieve the loss of another, but Ginny figured it was worth a shot. Besides, she didn't know what else to do.
At the pound they picked out an adorable little poofball with a pink nose and a mischievous disposition. On the drive home they stopped at a store and bought a collar, food bowl and bed for their new family member.
They showed the kitten around his new home, covered him with kisses and gave him a bowl of food. Their hearts still ached, but they did feel a little better.
Before long they decided to take the kitten out to the front porch to play and show him off to the neighbors. It was early evening, with a light breeze and a full, robust moon. Though it was getting close to most kids' bedtimes, the street was still alive with kids riding their bikes and kicking a soccer ball, filling the air with laughter and slang.
It was the kind of late summer evening that makes you think everything is going to be all right, after all. Ginny sat down on the porch steps and took a deep breath. It had been an extremely emotional day, and she felt wiped out. But she was still grateful to see her kids happily playing with their new kitten.
All in all, she reflected, things were going to be just fine. From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a shadow moving. She turned her head and there, sauntering lazily up the driveway, was Skittles. Apparently, he had been out most of the day carousing.
These days, whenever we see Ginny my friends and I greet her with a loud meow or a "Here, kitty, kitty." Immature? Yep. Knee-slappingly funny? Hell, yes.
Ginny and her family enjoy the company of Skittles and their new cat. Come spring, when the roses bloom, Ginny will think of the Skittles lookalike buried in her back yard -- the one she scraped up with a shovel and mourned for hours. Who wants to bet she'll need a drink?
Read more: Pet kitty mourned too well, too soon - Business Courier of Cincinnati
15 years ago
