I figured Elvis was gone for good. After he disappeared on
Halloween night, I really didn’t think we’d see him again. But to
my surprise, Elvis was back home in time for Thanksgiving, making
the holiday a happy one for Gilroy’s Kirchner family.
I figured Elvis was gone for good. After he disappeared on Halloween night, I really didn’t think we’d see him again. But to my surprise, Elvis was back home in time for Thanksgiving, making the holiday a happy one for Gilroy’s Kirchner family.
I don’t know if you spotted any of their flyers, but all through November, they were posted around Gilroy describing Elvis as a “two-and-a-half-year-old male Boston Bull Terrier weighing 23 pounds.” And the part that really got to me: “He has seizures and needs to be with his family. Please call, no questions asked, family is heartbroken.”
Fortunately, someone did see the signs, recognized Elvis, and called the Kirchners. Elvis had been hanging out in the alley by the post office that drivers use after dropping off mail. A Labrador had taken Elvis in and was caring for him, fiercely defending him from anyone who came too close. Elvis had lost a lot of weight but must have found some water at the Labrador’s place. Thanks to both canine and human effort, Elvis survived
It is difficult to type with a cat on your head, but I am trying to get the hang of it as my newly adopted Calico kitten climbs all over me and the keyboard, trying to get attention every moment that she can. Although her coat is marked with spots of black and brown against a pure white background, she has little pink ears, a pink nose, a tiny pink mouth, and little pink paws.
New kitten Twinkle joined the Teraji household at the same time Elvis was wandering the streets. Twinkle was saved by another kind soul who finds homes for the kittens that are being dumped in Christmas Hill Park. With no mother and not yet weaned, Twinkle had to be bottle-fed by cat foster mom Mary, who has turned her kitchen into a cat nursery for feral and abandoned kittens.
I am trying to keep my big older cat Finn from eating Twinkie like a little piece of prey. I think their personalities are very compatible though – and once they get used to each other, I don’t think the five year difference between my older cat and the new one is going to matter much.
I feel so warm and contented with cats in the room. They accept you no matter what, and bad hair days are meaningless to them. They listen to all your sob stories and then rub comfortingly against you and purr encouragement. It’s beyond my comprehension how some people can be so kind to animals, such as the woman who returned Elvis, yet others think nothing of abandoning litters of kittens in the freezing weather we are having.
Those who rescue these kittens are giving them a second chance in life. Twinkle may be a little starved for attention, but I think she is starting to relax – I caught her playing by herself for the first time today. She had crinkly tissue paper and a toy mouse – and she was batting the mouse and sliding around on the tissue paper like she was playing hockey. Thanks to those people who reach out to help God’s creatures around us, Twinkle had a good Thanksgiving and Elvis is back.
