I know that no matter how many cats I have none of them will ever be as special as Mickey. Mickey was only with me for a very short time but it only took that for me to love him. The minute I saw him I fell in love with him but I never imagined I would be calling him myself. After all I already had 2 dogs Daisy and Duke as well as my cat Millie and never thought we would be allowed to get another one but she did.
Mickey was too young to be taken away from his mother right away so after deciding to get him we had to wait awhile before we could actually bring him home. In those days that followed I would ride my bike over and spend hours playing with Mickey and his sisters. They were all wonderful, sweet, playful cats but Mickey stood out above the rest.
When we brought Mickey back to the cottage he was cheerfully greeted by my dog Daisy who was the only pet that we brought up to the cottage every summer. Mickey was a little scared of Daisy at first but soon they became very close. Up to the day that Mickey died he and Daisy were best friends. Daisy who passed away a few months after Mickey himself was the oldest pet we had and also had a heart condition. It had gotten worse the past year and Daisy was unable to do what she used to. That made her pretty depressed at times but having Mickey around made her feel better because they would play together all the time. He brought much joy and comfort to her and I will forever be grateful
to Mickey for doing that.
At the end of the summer we went back to Missisauga eager to see how Mickey would fit in with Duke and Millie. Mickey was terrified of Duke at first because of Duke being so big. Soon though he learned to love Duke and the two of them formed a very strong friendship.
Millie though was a different story. She had been the youngest pet and only cat until Mickey came. Unlike Duke and Daisy’s positive attitude about it being “the more the merrier” Millie had a very different way of looking at the new kitten. If he came near her Millie would hiss at him. Sometimes Millie would go outside to meet up with some of her friends and wouldn’t let Mickey near them so Mickey had no friends except our two dogs ,these two squirrels that lived in a tree in our front yard and a bunny that lived outdoors in our neighbourhood too. We had thought that once Millie got used to having Mickey around she and he would become friends but we were wrong. Millie never befriended Mickey even though it was obvious that Mickey wanted to be friends. Sometimes I wonder if Millie ever felt guilty after Mickey died for not giving him a chance but she doesn’t seem to care either way.
As Mickey got older he began to want the freedom Millie was given. Whenever Millie wanted to go outside we let her and never worried. Millie was street smart and kept herself well hidden so that we never worried about her getting into trouble. Mickey however was different. He wasn’t as intelligent as his sister and we had hoped we would have been able to keep him an indoor cat. He would cry at the door and escape everytime the door opened so we began to let him out during the day. He never did anything wrong. He stayed very close to home and if you looked out the window you could always see what he was up to.
One night though during the March Break Mickey had wanted to go outside. We didn’t expect it to be any different than usual. The next morning I was woken up to find out that Mickey had died. He had been hit by a car. July 24 2004-March 15 2005 he hadn’t even been a year old. It broke my heart that my angel had died before he even really began his life. My heart felt broken and I felt like I’d never be happy again. I felt guilt over Mickeys death and grieved for him for a long time.
Months later I could still go to bed crying about it. Once I began to get used to him being gone and though I still missed him was able to accept what had happened Daisy died. My two favorite pets are no longer here on earth with me but I know that they are looking down on me from Heaven. Up in the forest in Brudnell Mickey and Daisy are buried side by side. It comforts me to know that they are reunited and will look after one another. A few hours before Daisy died I knew it would happen soon so I told her to look after Mickey, tell him I love him and give him a kiss from me. Unlike Mickey I did have a chance to say goodbye to Daisy and let her know how much I loved her. I never got to say goodbye to Mickey so I told Daisy to do it for me when she got to Heaven. I miss Mickey and Daisy a lot but the two of them are happy playing in Heaven together and I know that they are watching over me too!
With Love Forever
| Mickey |
| Amy Elizabeth Bye |