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Time for
more of your wonderful stories, some about how you came
to have your pet, and all about how much having a pet
adds to life.
Dear
Joan: About 4 years ago, I had a knee replacement. I was
sent home after just three days with a big bottle of
pain pills.
I took
them for 3 1/2 weeks and then decided it was time to
stop so I could start driving. That night, I went to bed
and couldn’t sleep. I had pain and was jittery. I was
thinking about getting another one of those pain pills
when my kitty, Bialy, came and sat on my chest.
He’d
never done that before (although he does now since he
lost his brother). I couldn’t bring myself to get up
to get any medication with him being so cuddly. He did
the same the next night and by that time, I had no more
need for pain killers.
I still
tell people that Bialy saved me from a lifetime of
addiction.
—
Merryl Kravitz
Dear
Joan: I was taking my usual lunchtime run along the
Guadalupe River in San Jose when I caught something
unusual out of the corner of my eye. It was a gray
cockatiel with bright yellow facial markings and an
orange spot on its cheeks.
He was in
the same spot on my way back and on following days. I
went back one day after dinner and, as I suspected, he
was there. I think the only food he could find was from
a bale of hay put out for soil erosion.
Every day
I got a bit closer and closer with crackers in hand
before he would fly away. When I finally got close
enough, I swiftly grabbed him and put my sweat band
around his head to stop the biting. Ouch! I had a cage
in my car and he spent the afternoon in my office.
I tried
out several names, but nothing took. One day he fluffed
up his feathers and his dander rose. He was back lit by
bright light streaming in through the windows and I said
“Boy, you’re dusty. Wait, yeah, you are Dusty!”
and the name stuck.
That was
25 years ago. Now we are two aging bachelors hanging out
and watching out for each other. He has a table of his
own with a cage, a playpen, a tent and toys. I never
lock him up but I do keep his wings trimmed.
— Steve
Kalata
Dear
Joan: One wonderful day we found our special little
feline, Sally. It was a late evening coming out of
Safeway with my 10-year old daughter and 8-year old son.
We saw a little cat running out of the entrance to the
store with an employee behind it yelling “Scram!”
It was
obvious to us she was just hungry and upon her rude
dismissal from the store, she hid under a parked car.
With some minor coaxing, she let me pick her up. She
immediately started purring and we were instantly
smitten with Sally.
My rescue
tendencies got the best of me as well as a chorus of
“Can’t we take her home, Mommy? Can’t we?” from
my kids.
We took
her home to become a member of our family. This lively,
spunky little cat lived a long life with us in the
company of two dogs. In hindsight I now know I should
have tried to find her owner, but at the time all we
knew was she needed a home.
— Nelle
Neighbor
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