A week ago yesterday, I lost my beloved cat of almost 16 years. She was actually probably 18 years old, I got her as a rescued cat when she was about 2. Even though she was old, she still had a lot of life and spunk in her which was why it was such a shock to find her early Saturday morning, almost already gone. The vet said there was nothing we could do, it was time to say goodbye.
As my family sat in the vet's office in state of shock, completely devastated, we started reminiscing about her life. One of those memories is why I am writing this blog today, because it is about having good neighbors. The first property I owned in Society Hill was on Baldwin Court. Like a lot of the condos, I did not have a storm door. One day, my daughter ran outside to get something and accidentally left the door open. When I found the door open, I immediately looked for our cat, and she was gone. She was not an outdoor cat, so needless to say, we were frantic. We searched everywhere for her....but couldn't find her. So we posted flyers all around the neighborhood with her picture, description and phone numbers. About 2 days later, after many tears, we got a phone call from a neighbor in the next building...."I think I just saw your cat, I think she just ran past my patio door." So we ran out of our building and I saw her, hiding in a bush. I knelt down and she ran to me, hungry, scared and tired. I was so grateful to that neighbor who I thanked profusely.
We have another cat who also escaped from our home years later after we moved to a townhouse on Woodward (he jumped out of the second floor window through the screen after being spooked by something!) Again, the flyers went up and after days of not finding him, I got a call at midnight from a neighbor. "I think I hear your cat crying in your bushes." Sure enough he had found his way home and a neighbor let us know he was back.
There is definitely an advantage to living in a community like Society Hill. People live close enough to each other, making it easy to have a quick chat or help each other in a time of need. I am so grateful to my neighbor many years ago on Baldwin Court, for helping us to have many more precious years with my loyal and loving cat, Miss Ivy.
Please feel free to share a good neighbor story, I would love to read about it!
Comments(1)