tokens
flowers were delivered - from a man - to my home late yesterday. while there was nothing romantic in this gesture it was perhaps sweeter and certainly sadder. driving to work tuesday morning , along with the rest of ‘humanity’, i saw where a kitty had been hit and killed. this always sickens me and i typically drive on and hope that the animal is quickly found by the companion family or is a stray whose problems of survival are now over. suddenly everything looked cold and cruel to me; everyone looked as if they were in a tear-ass hurry to get absolutely nowhere. something made me stop and collect the kitty and while doing so i noticed a very nice collar, current rabies vaccine , and a tag identifying him as ‘ben’ with an address and number.
i don’t carry a cell phone - i despise them, so i wrapped him in a shirt and drove on to work where i called and left a message. around 2:30 i was over my job, my sinus headache and people in general so i went home. after wrapping ben's body more carefully in a sheet and placing him in a box i phoned the number again. an hour went by and finally the phone rang and i had to deliver the wretched news to ben's 'dad'. he came to collect his kitty and i had to tell him to please stop thanking me; if it were one of my darlings i’d want someone to do the same. i don’t believe companion animals should roam , particularly in such a congested area, but the time for that sermon was long past for ben.
The card attached to the flower basket expressed deep appreciation for my ‘thoughtfulness’ and ‘compassion.’ This was so nice but so very unnecessary; I want to live in a world where we have a few moments to consider the feelings of a stranger.
prevention is kinder than destruction. each year over six million healthy dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are killed as surplus. remember: neuter, spay and don't let them stray!