Missing Rosa


This commentary is certainly not about "bucking any trend". It is about heartbreak. I will borrow the words from my daughter who said, while picking up her cat, "this is a bundle of heartbreak". It is true that our pets give us so much before that ultimate heartbreak. But, that heartbreak is so overwhelming. My cat, Rosa, left us this past Saturday morning. But Rosa was not always my cat. She is one of the many animals who have been drawn here by the invisible neon sign on my roof. The sign reads, Tender Heart Inside-Great Place to Stop. This sign has brought close to ten animals to my doorway. Ten does not include the ones who tried but moved on. My house is like a magnet, well, I think it is the tone of my voice and the ability a stray has to wrap me around their little tail. 
Rosa showed up a few years ago with a companion, a black cat. It was apparent they had been taken care of. They were not thin and both had been rendered unable to have any offspring. Initially you look at these animals and say how cute. You go to work telling them, there is a better home down the road. I already have a few animals to take care of. You return home and breathe a sigh of relief because they are not there, until they are again. Random names appear over their heads like the bubbles over cartoon characters. You choose one for each. The black cat is named Fang and the white one with the orange spots is called Rosa. A few weeks go by and a routine is established. Bowls, for food and water, appear outside the front door.
 Fang is friendly. Rosa stays back. A few years go by and you can pet Rosa if she is standing directly behind Fang. Your fingers may only lightly touch her. Then that little bundle of heartbreak shows up and Fang is hit by a car. Fang was so affectionate. I missed him and buried him in my pet cemetery (not a la Stephen King) in my back yard. I sat on the stoop outside sad and looked at Rosa who was obviously sad. I thought she will leave now, but she never did. She was clipped by a car on her rear end racing across the street. It took three people to get her in a box to take her to the vet. Luckily she was only bruised. She had a little twist to her strut, but apart from that she was her usual self. Except, she had decided to be our friend. 
The friendship blossomed from tiny touches to full pets. The first time she jumped onto the couch to sit beside me I was scared to even breathe. I called my daughters and whispered Rosa is sitting on the couch beside me. The bonding increased and then it stopped because some neglected dogs got a hold of her. Choosing when our animals die is tragic, but there is that feeling that we are saving them from suffering. We had no choice. She died of shock. But, when I went in to see her her ears perked up and she looked right into my eyes and I knew she loved me and trusted me and I was lucky that she had been my pet. So, no bucking the trend of heartbreak when it comes to loosing your animals. Scream, cry, bang your fists against the steering wheel of your car and when the pain starts to subside remember all the good times. Like the one in the picture here of Rosa after she walked through a stepping block the kids had painted red and ended up pinkish. She had become part of our family and will always be in our hearts.