I'm a 66 year old retiree from the Social Security Administration who has
decided to get serious about writing. I grew up in Jersey City but
now Live in Aurora, Illinois. My interests are religious philosophy,
cosmology and, of course, writing. I've been published 10 times, but my
novel is still in process.
This morning I jumped up on her bed as I usually do and meowed, “Mommy get up, I’m hungry.”
She didn’t move so I meowed again “Mommy, I’m hungry -- get up.”
Then I thought, I’ll lick her nose because that always gets her going. But, it didn’t,
so I meowed really loud, “Mommy, why don’t you wake up!”
Something must be wrong. This never happened before! So I called my
sisters Lucy, Winifred, Annie, “Mommy won’t wake up and give us our breakfast. Something’s wrong! I’m scared.”
Then the phone rang and I thought that would get her up. But still she didn’t
move, "Oh what will we do?”
We crawled under the bed and waited for something to happen, hoping that Mommy would get up and
give us our breakfast. The phone rang a few more times, and then after a
while we heard someone knocking at the door. Then a key was put in the lock and the door opened. It was Charles. We were
relieved because he’d know what to do.
We heard Charles call for his mother, but Mommy didn’t answer him either. Then he came into the bedroom, walked over to Mommy and tried to
wake her up, but she didn’t wake. He took out his cell phone and made a call.
“This is Charles Woods. I’m at my mother’s home and I can’t wake her.
Would you please send and ambulance? The address it 57 Morrisey Avenue.”
Charles looked down and saw the four of us under the bed and was good
enough to put some food out for us. By the time we finished eating, the
ambulance arrived. The doctor looked at Mommy for a few minutes and
turned to Charles and said: “I’m sorry she’s been dead for a number of
hours.”
I don’t understand. What is dead?
A police officer came in shortly after and the ambulance left.
“How old was she?” the officer asked Charles.
“Seventy-six,” he replied.
“Has she been sick?”
“Yes. Lately I’ve been thinking something would have to be done. I mentioned moving into an apartment where help would be available. But
she was sure they wouldn’t let her take her four cats, so she wouldn’t
go.”
“What are you going to do with cats? Has she made any arrangements for them?”
“No. She didn’t. I guess she never thought of it. They’ll have to go to
the shelter. They don’t allow pets where I live.”
“They’re pretty old. I doubt that they’ll never get adopted,” the officer said.
“Somebody should tell older people to make provisions for their pets. You never know. I heard of a senior organization that networks on pets.
If something happens to a senior, the other members of the network make sure her pets find a home.”
"Meow! This is all so frightening. What is a shelter?"
Editor's note: This is a cautionary tale for all
of us, whether we're seniors or not. If we care about our pets we should
figure out a plan so that they will be taken care of when the time comes.
Talk with family members or friends who would be available to rescue our
beloved dogs and cats. Or try to connect with an organization that could
step in. And by all means, put this
information in writing in a place where it is sure to be found. Our little
companions shouldn't have to suffer needlessly.
|
