Thursday, July 01, 2004

Chapter 11.7: Cat of My Dreams

I had a bit of a nightmare last night, and I was planning to file a lawsuit. I was told that our cat Riley was not going to remain with us -- that the shelter where we adopted him nearly four years ago still retained legal custody and they were planning on sending him to another family.

I was extremely upset, even crying and threatening to sue the organization for not explaining the entire situation to us. How could we have been so misled? I was shown a paper with Latin terms I couldn't completely translate, but I was told they meant we were only caretakers for our boy, not the legal owners.

I ripped myself away from the dream. The blur of time on the clock indicated it was after 4 a.m. Our furry sentinel was standing watch at the window observing the night life, but he'd not seen the nightmare slip past. I went back to sleep.

An hour or so later Riley was awake and in a playful mood, meowing for attention. He does that a lot -- usually around 5-5:30 as the first hints of dawn break through and the birds awaken. I wasn't quite as annoyed this time. Eventually he joined us at the foot or our bed and snoozed. Nice life.

When I got up a couple hours later I petted him and told him how happy I was he was there. He'd left a nearly beheaded mouse toy at Maureen's side of the bed. I picked Riley up, cradled him in my arms, and he placed a paw up to my nose. He nibbled at my wrist and I placed him back on the bed. It amazes me how important a pet can be in life.

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