Ashley renamed him, Tyson, and he was our gentle bear. Tyson loved to play with Laina, our younger yellow Labrador Retriever. All too soon my two daughters were off to college and out of the house. I then began collecting cats. Next came, Hannah, a Siamese Tabby mix, with the most beautiful blue eyes.
She and Tyson immediately fell in love and became a couple. I thought the family was complete, but then I saw Lucy, beautiful green eyes, white fluffy fur. She locked eyes with me and wanted to play when I saw her at the pet store. How could I resist?
Lucy was the friendliest of my cats, so full of life and spunk, always climbing on the cat trees to be among my huge plants in our kitchen sunroom. When a girlfriend helped me move to California, Tyson, Hannah, Lucy, and Charlie, my dog after Laina passed away, came along, too. I thought I almost lost Lucy. She completely disappeared in our pet-friendly hotel room after we got everybody into the room and shut the door.
My girlfriend and I scoured the room. We raised up the mattress. We could not figure out where she had gone. Just by chance my girlfriend checked way up inside the seat of a recliner in our room and there she was, hiding. She became even a little more special to me that day.
When I got to California, I could not resist this gorgeous Flame Point Siamese cat the color of sand with piercing blue eyes. I took Oscar home to my new place. Later, we all moved into my new husband’s home with his dog, Shadow.
Over the past 12 years, I have had to say goodbye to Charlie, Shadow, Tyson, Hannah, Oscar and now my sweet Lucy. She hung on the longest, because maybe she sensed I needed her after my husband passed away, too. She was my cuddle bug, always sitting next to me when we watched TV. She loved her screened-in stroller, and jumped into it every morning to greet the day on my back porch.
We would sit there together, listening to the birds, enjoying the sunshine, and for some brief moments the drizzling rain. Towards the last two days of her life, we took naps together and she grabbed my wrist with her paw to pull it towards her. She was so strong for being so weak. And she looked lovingly into my eyes, as she did when I first saw her, as if to say, “It’s OK mom, it’s my time to go.”
For the first time since 1982, I do not have a pet in my house. They all brought such joy to my days. They may not be human, but in every way, they showed me an unconditional love that I will never forget.
Anne Mount is an award-winning journalist, author, and screenwriter. She is a native Daytonian.
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