Fadra of all.things.fadra, Social Dialect and Charitable Influence is my guest today. Yes, she writes all three blogs! Can you imagine?
Today she has written a thoughtful letter to Beamer, the newest furry member of her family.
Dear Beamer,
What a silly name, right?
I didn’t give it to you but apparently that’s been your name since 2008, when you were first adopted.
Yes, I’m sorry to break the news to you but you ARE adopted. In fact, this is your second adoption.
I don’t want you to feel like anything is wrong with you. Trust me, it’s usually something wrong with people. In your case, you were adopted by someone that didn’t quite understand what unconditional love meant.
I’m sure she took adequate care of you. She even took the time to thoroughly fill out the intake survey when she dropped you off at the place where she originally adopted you. She said you were very affectionate and bossy and demanding. She said you liked to cuddle and be held. And she said you sometimes had accidents when she didn’t pay attention to you or you were “mad” at her.
But the real reason she gave you up is that her daughter is moving to Texas. She said she is also thinking about retiring, selling her home, and moving to Texas.
Apparently, there are no cats allowed in Texas.
That’s cool, though. We just moved to Maryland and plan to stay here a while. It’s actually a pretty liberal state and I’m pretty sure the legislation is pretty tight when it comes to keeping your cats.
Yep, when we adopt, it’s for keeps. Let me give you a little history…
Emma is our 9 year old toy poodle. She’s been in our family of misfits for almost four years now. I wasn’t looking for a dog the day I walked into the pet store. But there was an adoption fair and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I had scooped up that half-blind, toothless puppy mill reject and called her my own. She’s a work in progress but she’s come a long way.
Roscoe is our 1 year old shih tzu. At least that’s what we think he is. If there was a breed of dog called “pure joy,” I’m sure that’s what he would be considered. Yes, he’s a puppy and he’s still got a lot of learning to do. We picked him up from a rescue group who had found him in a city shelter. Apparently, the dogcatcher got him and brought him in. You don’t have to feel sorry for anyone though. His owner actually came to pay her $30 fee and claim him but when the clerk asked for her ID, she refused. And then promptly left saying she would just go get another dog.
Her loss. Totally.
Now, I have some news for you and I wanted to break it to you gently but I thought I should just put it out there.
We have another cat.
That’s right. You won’t be an only cat.
Josie is a 9 year old “domestic shorthair.” I think that’s what you’re all called anyway. She’s a little shy and a little skittish and she has trouble adapting to change. In fact, for the entire first year we had her, she barely came out from under the bed.
But you need to cut her some slack. She’s probably lonely and doesn’t even know it.
You see, my kitty Arnie passed away almost two years ago. He was my single-girl companion. He kept me company when I was lonely and cried myself to sleep. He entertained me when I would sit and watch TV. And he made sure I never had to go to the bathroom alone again.
He was my buddy and when he died at the age of 20, I felt a hole in my heart.
I had experienced grief and sadness but the loss of Arnie stayed with me. While the pain of him being gone lessened, I could physically feel an ache in my chest where I knew a part of my heart had gone missing. And it was a part that could never be mended.
Then recently, something in the universe told me it was time to look at some cats. We looked online. We read your bio. We studied your picture. And on a whim, we visited you this weekend.
Everyone in the family thought you would be perfect, except me. I was anxious. Would you fit in or would you upset the balance in our house?
Mommy, don’t you just love Beamer? my son asked me.
No, I told him. Not yet.
For me, love isn’t instant. And when I picked you up today, I still felt that certain sense of apprehension. You meowed the whole way home and I had the knot of dread in my stomach that I get every time I make a major decision involving change. The knot that says: Are you sure this is a good idea?
But you’re here now and I’ve gotten to spend time with you. You are soft and sweet. You love to rub my head. You let me rub your belly. And from behind, if only for an instant, I see a glimpse of my Arnie again.
You aren’t Arnie. You are Beamer. And I just wanted to write you this letter to let you know that you are finally home.
With love from your adopted mom,
Fadra
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Very sweet! And boo to those people who gave up their animals. We are pets for life people too, and as long as my kids aren’t getting mauled, we’ll see them through every vomit and hurt paw and eye infection and just plain annoyance.
Also my husband may have died a little inside when I told him that cats regularly live to be around 20.
And didn’t I see you posting something about cleaning up cat vomit today? Yes, I feel your pain. But I just can’t say no.
Aw, that’s awesome! Funny how it takes a bit for us to think of a pet as part of the family and then we realize that they really are. I know that feeling. And that picture is just precious.
Thank you. Yes, I’m surprised at how quickly I feel like he’s my cat. Not a replacement… just a lovely reminder 🙂
Aw! It always breaks my heart to hear of people who give up their animals. We always had dogs growing up and I sure do miss having a pet now!
I’m sure Beamer will be the perfect fit to your family!
If I could handle it, I would totally hoard animals. But only the clean and healthy kind of hoarding. Maybe I need a farm…
Fadra,
You are so lucky to have Beamer in your life. Don’t tell Beamer this (pinky swear, ok?) but my whole family is allergic to cats. Like, really really bad. And dad is allergic to dogs. But we really, really want to have a pet we can love. So, we are going to build a doghouse and the plan is to have daddy sleep in there until he admits that he is really not that allergic (he seems to have “selective” allergies) if you know what I mean. Anyway, I am glad Beamer has a warm loving family like yours. I wish we could give a home to a pet, pets like you. But having the allergies is good because it keeps me in check. Otherwise, I would be at the pound any time I had a bad day at work, picking up strays.
Kiran
Kiran – thank you so much! Every few years my husband thinks he has a cat allergy and I just laugh it off and tell him no. We have dogs with hair, not fur, so that makes life a little cleaner too. But I will admit that I am a wee bit envious of families without pets. Cleaner houses and no worries for vacations.
But the unconditional love makes up for it 🙂
I wish I could have a cat! I’m a cat person, not a dog person (yet we have 2 dogs). Jason is allergic, so no cats here…
You’re a good kitty mom Fadra 😉
Natalie – a hairless cat, perhaps? I have actually seen them. I once spoke at a pet blogging conference!
How sweet. I’m a firm believer that adoption is forever, too, and I’m glad you found each other, Fadra!
Thanks, Greta! Yep, for better or for worse applies to our pets as well.
Oh you’re a good cat mama!
{Love the pic! So very sweet!}
Thanks, Galit. Hope Beamer thinks so too 🙂
Beamer, he’s just gorgeous!
You are such a loving family, Beamer is going to be a great fit.
I hope so! He’s currently missing somewhere in the house. I’m assuming that means he’s having fun exploring!
Fadra I love how much you love cats. Okay, so we are allergic and Miles would likely have his eyes swollen shut without more benadryl than any young body should ingest but we would still come. Maybe he and E could just play outside. I would love to get a snuggle from Beamer! And lady, I know you say you don’t do the chaos of many kids but you now have 4 pets so join the chaos crew! xo
Yes, you’re right. I definitely have my share of chaos. I’m always cleaning up something or running someone to the vet. But at least they’re quiet and I can crate them if I want!!
love you, Fadra, and so happy for your Beamer! people who adopt pets are DA BOMB.
The hardest part is only adopting ONE!!!
Awwww. Such a sweet kitty.
He is sweet. I couldn’t be happier (especially when picking pets is such a crapshoot!)
It sounds like Beamer will be very loved 🙂
He already is 🙂
Y’all look so cute together! Glad you gave him a little history on the rest of the pets, very important. Welcome Home, Beamer! 🙂
He’s taking it all with a grain of salt. I think he wants to figure it out for himself.
Beamer is gorgeous. I want to shnuggle him (yes, please say it with the sh. Thank you.) I love how you’ve described all the friends Beamer’s gonna have now and how the woman who let him go was a selfish old…oh, wait.
Anyway, welcome, Beamer! (Also, why didn’t I know you were in MD and I actually CAN come shnuggle him? That is, if you aren’t all scared like that last lady from Craigslist who wouldn’t let me in.)
Yeah, I know. We’re practically locals, right? I’ve only been here since May 2012 so I’m still technically new. And I think he’s happy here too.
I don’t even like cats but this letter makes me wanna rush out and go adopt one right away! What a sweet letter and I am sure they will all be very happy together. There really is something/a kind of unconditional love that you get from a dog or cat that you cannot get elsewhere.