Community Chat

[madeinamerica]

Since today is Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to pay tribute to all the Moms out there who taught us, their daughters (and sons) to love animals.

When Mom and Dad married, they adopted a cat, the "original" Cookie, who lived to be 20 years old. When I was born, seven years later, I was taught at an early age to love and respect animals.

I remember that I always looked forward to Christmas Eve, as that was the only night that Cookie didn't sleep with Mom and Dad.....he would come in my bed and cuddle with me as Mom and Dad were busy playing Santa that evening after we went to bed.

I can remember one time, when Cookie went outside and got into a fight with another much bigger Tom cat. Mom ran out of the house to protect Cookie and came back in with a huge, profusely bleeding scratch on her leg from protecting Cookie from the other cat. (he was an indoor cat most of the time, but was allowed out of doors) That was the first time I head my mother utter the word "s*it". I was almost as shocked at the utterance as I was at Mom's bloody leg.

Cookie would sit on the piano as my mother played, and to this day, I can close my eyes and see that "picture" in my head.

Cookie lived to a ripe old age of 20. He only ate liver and Mother would cook it (and it would stink up the kitchen I was thirteen when he died, and it was traumatic for all of us. I had never seen my parents cry so hard in all my life. (nor had I cried so hard in all my life, either) We buried him in our rock garden and I can remember feeling such a sense of emptiness and sorrow.

I could write more, but I'll keep it brief, as I just wanted to pay tribute to the woman who taught me that animals are family, that they are to be treasured and well cared for and loved.

Thank you, Mother. I love you. (even though she won't read this, I know that she knows it and it's due to her and Daddy that I have such a profound love of animals.)