WHO RESCUED WHO?

For more on the story of how Bear saved my life: 

Imperfectly perfect ... together: The power of one cat's love.


Our story ...

One of the benefits of publishing a blog is that one has a platform for educating and making a difference in the lives of others. Usually, our way of making a difference involves using humor to brighten our readers' days and share our appreciation for our wonderful, but complexly enigmatic, felines. So many times, I've almost quit blogging - usually in response to stories of the cruelty of humanity after reading stories of cats tortured or hurt by humans - and equally galling, the unbelievable number of pets euthanized each year for lack of shelter space. According to Animal 24-7 published by Merritt Clifton, each year, over 2.7 million pets in shelters die without finding their forever home. So many beautiful souls - so much potential for companionship, love, and healing - so much love extinguished because so many humans can't appreciate it - lost to humanity for good. Why do I continue blogging? Someone needs to be the voice - someone needs to tell the story for all the lives lost each year without voices. Our blog is mostly humor - but that humor - and the deep attachment Bear and I have - is how he saved MY life. That's what I try to pass on with our blog.
The love of my rescues - Bear, Ellie, and Kitty - makes me a better person - a more loving person - a more understanding person. And that love doesn't end with their lives. I've struggled to come to terms with losing Kitty over ten years ago - but the greatest comfort is that the transformation she inspired is permanent and carries forward in my relationship with other people and cats. Kitty lives on in the way I love Ellie and Bear. She lives on for as long as I live. In the way my love reaches other people ... and more people beyond that ... her love and life is a gift that keeps on giving. The ripples of a stone thrown in a pond far exceed the original event. In the same way, pets have a way of impacting us far longer than they're with us.
With Bear and Ellie, I didn't set out to find another rescue - I wasn't considering getting another cat. Sometimes though, we're given opportunities that require a heart of courage to win out over logic and doubt. The first time I met Bear (and later Ellie), I think we both saw something in the other that we didn't realize we had. A gift of another being appreciating and acknowledging us for who we truly are - and not the narrative others created for us. We saw the beauty in the others' souls - even if we couldn't articulate that's what it meant at the time. There are few things I'm truly proud of ... but listening to Bear and Ellie when they chose me is right up there at the top. I didn't let logic or fear win ... I trusted my heart. Hard for a logical person like me - scary ... terrifying ... but I think also necessary as I continue to build my life up around my recovery from anorexia. 



What does rescue look like? Our faces of rescue ...

*** Bear ***
(2006 at about eight months old; found by me on the street).
Bear changed everything for me - transformed my life completely - taught me to accept love (which came in handy in relationship to loving myself ... and letting The Boy love me) - showed me that my parents' legacy of selfishness and self-involvement was not my own (I managed to adjust myself to Bear's needs even when it made me uncomfortable and uneasy - and he taught me how to do something other than just survive. After years subject to the cruelty of the humans around me, only this little guy was up to the job of helping me heal. Not bad for a kitty I encountered carrying the groceries in one day. Homeless, feral, stray ... whatever you want to call it ... if my life matters - so must his. 

To read more about Bear's adoption story (and his past as a homeless kitten) ...


*** Ellie Mae ***
(2017 at six years old; picked up by animal control and returned to the rescue who adopted her out as a kitten until our eyes met at an adoption event at PetSmart).

To read more about Ellie's adoption story ...



*** Kitty *** 
(1991 at eight weeks old after her litter was dumped at a vet's office, until 2007).

To read the post in memory of Kitty - Kitty-Kitty: Unoriginal Name, One-of-a-Kind Cat.



But for every happy ending of a forever home, there are hundreds of pets that die without ever knowing the love and safety of a forever home. There are MILLIONS of companion animals killed each year without even having a chance or a voice. 

This page was first published as Remember Me Thursday {writing to save lives} [2017] #RememberTheRescueFor more information about rescues waiting for homes and the importance of rescue: Remember Me Thursday {writing to save lives} Remember Me Thursday {writing to save lives} [2018] #RememberMeThursday. #RememberMeThursday and Remember Me Thursday {writing to save lives} [2019] #RememberMeThursday.

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