The Wailer
Pets Make Us Human: Pepper, by Zna.
It was an insistent meow. Over and over, the same tone, pleading. We have 3 toms in the household, all seasoned males, not used to having a midget wailing in their territory. They stared transfixed at the little, helpless heap just outside our gate and we humans were wondering how long we could stand ignoring the little pleas. It was staring to drizzle.
My 8-year-old daughter stood up and resolutely marched out the gate. Then the cooing started. Then we heard the food canister filled with kitty treats open, jiggle, then close. Silence. We knew what was happening. So we adults gave up and marched downstairs. After reassuring our boys that everything was ok, we dared a look outside. The kitten was eating. Once satisfied, our daughter cradled the white bundle and looked at me. “He’s sleeping.” And he was, snuggly-wuggly cute as any abandoned kitten would be in the arms of a human child. We adults looked at each other, looked at our toms and sighed. Back to toilet-training. It was then we welcomed Pepper into our home.
Pepper will receive a gift from Purina, PAWS, and the Homeless Not Worthless campaign. Keep sending your stray cat and dog adoption stories and photos to saffron.safin@gmail.com. More dogs, please.
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