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Writer's pictureCaprice Hardin

Tribute to my El Gato

Im sure if you are reading this you have a beloved dog or cat in your life. Maybe you can still remember a childhood pet you had, and still remember the signifigant loss it was when they were no longer in your life. Loss is inevitible at some point in our lives espeically when you are a pet owner. Its not easy to talk about in person for me. My El Gato was my once in a lifetime cat. If you are lucky, you will have or have had one. I dont have to explain to the owners who have had a once in a lifetime pet and I wish with everything inside me for those who have not experienced this, that you do someday. I need to say that saying this, its not in any way diminishing the other pets that came and went. When you experience the loss of a once in a lifetime pet or any pet, it can take a literal lifetime to process and deal with the loss. Especially if its a loss that happened tragically. I don't think we ever truly get over the loss of pets at all , we remember life with them and live the rest of our life without. They all come to my memory frequently, as I have learned so many invaluable life lessons from them.


So many times during conversations with customers when this subject comes up we often say or hear "I wish they lived longer". In my heart and mind I can never forget them because when I think of them, it takes me back to that particular place and time in my life where I was with them. The house I live in now has been the longest Ive lived in one place since childhood, built off 2 broken dreams and really, really hard work,. we built our dream come true place. We weren't supposed to be here. It was about a 3 year period of stress, stress and more stress. Looking back now I have no idea how we made it. We had a pack of 3 dogs at the time and 2 barn cats who were semi-friendly. I had said in passing a few times I had wanted a black cat, but felt we had our hands full at the moment as our dogs and cats were elderly. All our dogs and cats survived the move into this amazing place we call home now, but one by one began their transition to the rainbow bridge and soon we were down to no dogs and no cats. It was indescribably eerie to go from such a bumbling atmosphere of sounds, to nothing. A few weeks went by and I decided that I would head to my local Animal Protective League to find my new black cat. I happened to ask my daughter who was 14 at the time if she wanted to go to "the store". Shockingly, she said yes and didn't even ask what store until we were on our way. When she asked "what store are we going to" I answered "the free cat store" and of course she was like, huh?! Little did I know it was kitten circus day and it was bogo kitten day. To prevent the spread of illness the rules allow you to only hold kittens from one cage, el Gato held his paw outside the cage to me so of course I felt chosen. His brother who was sleeping in the back soon woke up and my daughter picked him up and insisited we keep that one. I decided to keep them both! I still to this day regard them as the best thing I ever did, and in my heart I really believe it was.


Recently I took a Fear Free course about cats and the veterinarian was speaking on the importance of having a "clinic cat". I do not have a "clinic" but do have a home based shop so El Gato decided he was going to protect me in the role of the shop cat and let everyone know who came over with their pets that this place was cool and he would calm their pets down. He was the first cat so many dogs ever saw which was a great experience for them because of his laid back demeanor. He never ran from dogs, kinda scared me really because he was so trusting I was hoping it would never be to a fault. I did ask clients with bigger dogs if their dogs were good with cats and most were if they weren't I made sure I didn't have mine anywhere near them. If I had a dog in distress or anxious in the kennel he would come running in and look at them as if to say "its ok, shes my mom, she wont hurt you, this isnt a bad place". I swear on my life that cat calmed dogs down just by being him, and him looking at them. The occasional terrier would of course holler at him but he knew most of them meant no harm by that. Both El Gato and his brother Squish became so used to loud noises I could even vaccum them with no resistance at all. Mind you these were cats born in the wild. We estimate they were 9-10 weeks old when we got them. I was also in a couple of loud rock bands at the time and our rehearsals were often held next to where my shop is. Both cats would enter the room with a full live band going, even running up and down the piano to contribute to the music! To say they are special creatures is an understatement. Getting them was not necessarily to fill the void of the others being gone, it was what I needed for the comfort of what I knew pets can offer emotionally.


Tragically we lost El Gato a year ago. He had eaten string off a spool of thread which is not made of cotton too much these days anymore and by the time we had realized he had done that, it was over a week too late. Its very hard to understand how I could have overlooked something so obvious and I write all this as a cautionary tale as well as sharing my most recent experience with loosing a pet. I missed signs he was clearly telling me he was needing help. We did end up doing surgery, he lived thru that but the next day passed from what we think was a blood clot. This was not his first rodeo with his 9 lives being put to the test but it was the final one. I think of him everyday to this day and know he is still very much present because of that.


When a client or friend of mine losses a pet I really do understand the devestation and often don't know what to say in those moments. Theres no way I could live on earth without a pet though. And I truely appreciate and do not take for granted, the trust that is granted to me by being your pet groomer.



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