My Brother, A Dog

I had the best life; one any cat would love to have. I lived with a sweet kind little old woman. Our life was the best it could be. We’d get up with the sun have a nice breakfast together while we watched the news. Then she would get up and say, “It’s time to exercise Samantha.” And she would reach for this little thing that would shoot out a beam of light. It was so much fun chasing that around the room.

In the summer we would go out to the garden. She would putter around pulling weeds and checking out the flowers, making sure they had enough water and fertilizer while I would chase the bugs and other pests out. Then it was time to go in for morning tea. She would always give me a special treat while she drank her tea.

Next, we would go sit in our favorite chair and take a morning nap. After lunch we read a while. She used to read out loud to me and show me the pictures, I liked those stories. Then it would be time for our afternoon nap. We took that in the same chair, we were already there, as that is where we read too.

The only part of the week I did not like was when her son came to visit. Why he bothered coming I don’t know. All he did was find fault, tell her she had to do this and do that. That she had too much stuff and couldn’t keep care of it. Told her she should kick me out, that I was always under foot. She would pick me up and cuddle me saying “Don’t listen to him, he’s just jealous cause he doesn’t have a nice kitty like you.” That’s when he would storm out and we wouldn’t see him for another week.

Then the day came; that sad, sad day. I woke up, nudged her hand, but she didn’t move. I walked up and rubbed against her face, still she didn’t move. I knew she was gone. I ran to the window, trying to get somebody’s attention, but they all just kept walking or driving by. Two days passed before the mailman noticed the mail hadn’t been picked up. So, he brought it to the door and knocked.

I ran to the door and cried as loud as I could. He heard me, and he knew something wasn’t right. I heard him call somebody to come check it out. I knew finally help was on its way; so, I went back to lay with her until they got there. I didn’t want her to be alone.

This really nice man came in with her son and another man. He checked her out, said she had been dead for two days. HE looked at me said, “It was nice of you to keep her company; but I bet you’re really hungry. How about we go out to the kitchen and find you something to eat. While he was distracting me with food his partner put my best friend in a bag and got her ready to be taken out.

Before they left, he turned to Tom, my friend’s son, “That’s a nice cat, what’s going to happen to her?”

“I’ll take care of her” was all he said.

Take care of me? I could only imagine what that meant. It didn’t take long to find out. He went and got the cage my friend used to take me to the vet. I thought maybe he’s going to take me there. That would be okay they’re all really nice. So, I got right in, showed him I wasn’t going to be any trouble. He took me out to his car, and we went for a looong ride. I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew it wasn’t the Vet.

Finally, he stopped took me out and put the cage on the ground. It was really cold, there was this white stuff all over the ground, I think my friend called it snow. But we never went out when that was on the ground, and that was fine with me. I didn’t want to get out in it now either so, I stayed in the cage. He kicked the cage saying, “Get out, I don’t have all day!”

But I stayed right where I was. He picked up the cage and tipped it until I fell out. I was stunned, and barely saw what he did next. He threw the cage into the back seat of his car and got in and drove away. I couldn’t believe it. He left me out there in the cold with no houses in sight. How could he do that?

I knew if I was going to make it, I had to find cover. So, I pulled my self together and started walking. Every once in a while, I’d see a mouse drive into the snow, and I’d go get it. I was so hungry and weak and cold. I was ready to just give up and die when I saw this building.

I forced myself to keep going I was almost there when I saw this candy cane striped object bouncing in the air coming for me. I stopped dead in my tracks wondering what it was. It was three times as high as I was, maybe it didn’t see me. But what was it?

I remembered our neighbor showing us a new collar she had just bought for her dog. She said it was a Halo Collar. That’s what this was and it came with the biggest dog I had ever seen! I wasn’t taking any chances. I ran for that small building and got under it just in time.

I’ve seen dogs before but none that big, and they always chased us cats. So, I knew I wanted to stay away from him. He came running after me barking and barking. I didn’t think he would ever stop barking. When he did, I saw his big nose coming under the building I was hiding under.

I was breathing so hard, I tried to hold my breath; but he saw me and whimpered. Finally, this lady came out of the house and asked, “Jasper, what’s wrong. What do you have under there?”

I scooted way to the back corner where it was dark and closed my eyes hoping she wouldn’t see me. A few minutes later I heard her say, “There’s nothing under there, what’s wrong with you?”

He barked and stuck his noise under again, but this time he didn’t see me either and he left. I could breathe again. And it was surprisingly warm in that corner. The snow had banked it, so there were no openings. I stayed there and took a nap. When I woke up, I was sooo hungry, I had to venter out and find something to eat.

I slowly went to where I had come in and looked out. I didn’t see the dog so crept out and got me a couple of small mice. I had no sooner finished those when that big dog came down the steps again. I ran for my new home. But he got there first and stopped me. He put that big paw on me so I couldn’t get away then started barking.

Soon that lady came out again, “You rascal! What are you howling about now?” Just then she got close enough to see. “Oh, my goodness you found a cat.” She came over and rescued me from that big dog. As she picked me up, she said, “You’re so cold, and it looks like you haven’t had a decent meal for a long time.

She and the rascal took me inside. She opened a can of tuna and gave it to me. That was so good. But that dog was setting there watching me. He made me nervous, so it took me a long time to finish my meal.

When I finished, I went over by the fire and laid down for a nap. Surprised that that dog had kept his distance while I ate. He watched me the whole time, but he was quietly waiting for me. And when I laid down, I watched him. I wasn’t sure what he would do if his mom wasn’t there.

He slowly got up and came over to lay beside me. He was so warm and surprisingly gentle. By the end of the day, I knew I had a new home with a great brother protector.

We still laugh about how we met and that candy cane striped collar.