Amityville Record

Pets, Pets, Pets


 

 

This Thanksgiving, the distress caused by the pandemic, has stripped us of the ability to do many things we always took for granted, like gather­ing with family and friends. Hence, we have become more ob­servant and introspective, finding ourselves grateful for happenings, gestures and signs we may not have noticed or appreciated pre­viously.

The same is true in the animal rescue sector. Fun­draising and celebratory events have virtually van­ished. Necessary veterinary appointments are difficult to schedule because of medical staff and hour cutbacks. Like small businesses, non-prof­its, including shelters and rescues, are also suffering financially.

The entire pet adoption process has been redesigned for the sake of public health. Applications, home visits and initial paperwork are done online. Shelters are only open by appointment; and when weather permits, potential owners meet their new dog prospects outdoors.

Despite these major changes, we are thankful the number of pet adoptions have kept pace with other years, and in some instances soared because people working and confined to their homes sought furry friends to keep them company, as well as comfort them.

 

 

Since everyone is anxiously awaiting a return to normalcy, if and whenever possible, we look for signs that say soon ev­erything will be all right. However, we shouldn’t be so naive to think the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve will end our 2020 world woes.

This Thanksgiving, I’d like to describe a sign that suggests the future of animal rescue will go on as part of the cycle of life. This beckoning comes from a darling, but ancient cat who passed last week.

RIP, Chester: On November 11, Last Hope’s Chester, a resident black cat, succumbed to the ravages of advanced age.

Cat volunteers hope Chester enjoyed being with us for the last five months as much as we enjoyed being with him. This special senior was so appreciative despite his infirmities.

 

 

Chester was between 15 to 20 years old in June when he entered the Last Hope Cat Center in Wantagh after his owner died.

A hotline caller was worried because a cat being fed for weeks in his late, loving owner’s apartment was about to be evicted and had no place to go. The late owner’s relative planned to euthanize this cat until Last Hope intervened.

When Chester got to Last Hope, it became apparent he was quite elderly and friendly. Chester was a delightful patient when hydrated every other day by our medical volunteers because he was in early kidney failure. He’d purr.

Chester had a growth on his bottom lip and another on his tongue yet usually ate well. Mouth masses tend to be aggres­sive cancer. Meanwhile, Chester relished the TLC he received from the volunteers.

Chester had lots of supervised playtime in his Free Roamer Cat room. Then he’d rest in his cage when left alone so he didn’t get hurt because he was frail.

The volunteers loved being with Chester. His perpetual purring suggested the admiration was mutual.

One volunteer wrote this tribute to Chester: “I so looked forward to spending time with you. I’d sit on the floor with you and you’d lean against my leg knowing I needed that love.” Another posted: “Chester put peace in my heart when I held him.”

Last Monday Ches­ter wasn’t himself, and Tuesday he was weaker. Aunt Leslie, a retired nurse, took him to a cat hospital. Wednesday tests showed Chester’s body was failing him.

Aunt Melanie, a retired doctor, went to the cat hospital so she could hold Chester as he left for the Bridge. She told him, he’d be reunited with his Dad soon. And thanked him for bringing such joy to the volunteers.Chester was truly loved and will be missed by many.

Epilogue: That Monday night when Chester began to crash and was being tended to by Aunt Leslie inside the medical room, another hotline call allowed a waif to come to Last Hope’s door.

A tiny black kitten had been found alone outside an Oceanside warehouse. His res­cuer carried him into Last Hope with his little head sticking out of her fleece jacket. It was dark in the lobby doorway. On close inspection, I could see the infant kitten’s bottom lip was bloody.

This kitten was a Mini Me of Chester with a distinct bottom lip injury too. How could both cats, so extreme in age, need help from Aunt Leslie at the same moment?

After Leslie rushed Chester to the hospi­tal, she went back to Last Hope to fetch the baby Chester and take him home because he didn’t eat. She wanted to monitor the infant closely.

In doing so, she discovered the baby Chester was a girl, now named Chessie. The cut on her bottom lip was a slice similar to one from a cat food can. Pain probably kept her from eating the night before.

Chessie started to heal with Aunt Leslie’s help and moved into her full time foster home the day after Chester died. Tiny Chessie is so busy playing now, it’s hard to take a photo of her that isn’t blurry.

So could Chessie be the little angel Chester summoned to take his place because he knew he’d soon be leaving? His final, kind gesture may have safely guided this kitten into rescue. Chester also reassured volunteers and believers in signs that Last Hope’s mission to assist orphan pets, from the very young to very old, would continue despite the COVID obstacle course.

Surely sounds like something our Chester would do. Happy Thanksgiving.

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