Let me start out this blog post with … I could not have made this up if I tried!

Around 7:30am my phone rang and it was Doug frantically telling me I needed to come outside because there was quote: Something really scary outside.”  In the back of my mind I was thinking “This had better be good.”  Doug met me at the back door and told me that I didn’t close the garage door last night.  I started to insist that I did (because I know I did!) but it’s been acting up a little and so it sometimes opens back up again.  Maybe I didn’t actually watch it close all the way …

Doug goes on to tell me that he closed the door for me when he made his breakfast.  When he was getting into his car to drive to work, he heard something strange.  When he looked up he saw this:

(please note that this is not my garage door … it’s a picture I found on google but this is exactly what I saw!)

I immediately opened the garage door, holding my breath because I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen.  Sure enough, the cat dropped to the ground, still crying, and dragged his behind into my neighbor’s bushes.  I was torn between trying to hold him and just letting him go.  I wanted to help, but wasn’t sure if it would lash out at me if I got close.

I then grabbed the phone and called the Humane Society.  They had to be able to help, right?  I was so flustered and Doug was still talking, I had to redial twice so I could write down the on-call number.  The kind lady on the phone said that she could be out by us in about 25-30 minutes.

As the adrenalin started to wear off, we started to think a little clearer.  We should let our neighbors know about the cat in their bushes,  just in case they come outside.  I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.  I felt sick to my stomach as I imagined that poor cat dragging his hind legs behind him.  It was awful!  You could still hear the cat cries from the bushes.   Doug had to get to work, but I was ok since the neighbors were going to help me keep watch on where the cat was.

It took a good 30 minutes for HAWS to get to us.  When the car pulled in, we showed her where the cat had crawled to.  And wouldn’t you know … the cat came WALKING out of the front bushes and right into Rita’s arms!  It was a friendly cat after all.  Which then made my heart sink again … this is probably someone’s cat and not a stray.  Doug crushed someone’s pet in our garage door!  I felt sick all over again.  I know that they’ll take good care of the cat and hopefully they’ll find his rightful owners.  The lady from HAWS said she thought maybe she was dragging her hind legs because they were numb from being trapped like that.  That’s a way better outcome from the broken pelvis I thought she had!

So if you live near Sussex, WI and you see a sign about a missing orange cat, let me know … cuz I’m pretty sure it’s only got 8 lives left!

I swear, this stuff only happens to me.

Love, Mel