What can I say about Cookie -- Oreo
Cookie -- except that we had her for just a short time
in our lives. In April 2002, Rodger found
her on the other side of our fence. She was so
friendly, stretching her little body and so wanting to
be petted and stroked. She also seemed very
hungry. And, of course, we fed her. Not
surprisingly, she began hanging around our backyard from that point on. She
let me pick her up, stroking her dainty little head. She did
not like being around the other outdoor kitties, though, and made no
bones about letting them know that. I think it was more a
matter of self-defense than any act of aggression. We needed a
name for her and so I asked my fellow on-line cat list friends for
suggestions. When Kim mentioned Oreo Cookie, I just knew right
away that was the right name.
After a few weeks, I decided that as it appeared that we had been
adopted by this little black and white baby, it would be necessary
for her to be altered, just as all our furbabies are. On
Thursday, May 2, I brought her to our veterinarian clinic early in
the morning, then I continued on to work. As I was dropping
her off, I asked that her left eye be checked out as it seemed to
have somewhat of a film over it. I called in the afternoon and
was told that she came through the surgery just fine and would be
ready to go home around 4:30 or so. Rodger and I had already
decided we would leave her there overnight as we felt she would be
safer there than at our house. She would be terrified if we
kept her closed up in the house (never having been in the house
before) and would most likely be frightened outside, as well, and
certainly not safe.
The veterinarian who had performed the
spaying called that evening and
said she had "not so good news."
I heard over the phone the words "had some sort
of reaction - her little head swelled -
we tried everything." She sounded
distraught and said that this was only the
second time in her career
that she had seen something like
this - that it had to have been a
reaction to the rabies shot or possibly a
combination of the shot and the anesthesia. I couldn't
even finish listening to her - I asked her to please
finish explaining to my husband and I handed him the
phone. I had already missed
Cookie so much earlier that
afternoon when I was feeding the indoor
kitties because I would always watch her
from the kitchen window, while she laid on the deck
outside--sunning herself, waiting for her meal.
I had been so looking forward to bringing her home. Now,
Rodger would have to bring her home
the next day instead, to bury her.
We didn't have Cookie for a long period of time, as we did
Sweetheart and Black Cat and Critter, but it didn't matter.
She was a precious little furbaby who wormed her way into my heart
and who would have been the 13th member of the Bilbrey Cat
Brigade. I wanted her to have a happy, long life with us -
and now I will have to comfort myself with the thought of her
being happy at the Bridge, waiting....
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Special thanks to Pat Bernard
for this beautiful memorial
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Thank you, Nancy,
Girls and Bo
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