I made my way toward the garage of the animal shelter to pick up a crate for the puppy I was to bring to the nursing home. I knew I had to pass the euthanasia room and I also knew that as much as I hated it, I had to look anyway. Next in line was a long-haired tiger/calico cat. She pressed her head against the metal door as I walked by and mewed softly. I continued my walk to the garage, picked up the crate, and made my way back to my office. After dropping the crate on the floor, I picked up the receiver to my telephone and paged Ken, the Kennel Attendant, to my office. "Go get me that cat that's next in line for the euthanasia chamber," I ordered, more sharply than I meant to. What was I doing? We needed another cat like a hole in the head. Ken returned almost immediately with the cat in his arms. Her eyes were large and she was afraid. I quickly took her from Ken's arms and cradled her in my own. "Well, hello there," I murmured softly. "What's your name?" Ken stated that she had no name. The individuals that brought her in to the shelter claimed that they never really called her anything but "Cat." "Why did they give her up?" I asked. "She's pregnant," he responded. Then added, "For the 11th time." The disgust registered on my face as Ken finished. "They said they didn't want to deal with it anymore. Jan told them she would be put to sleep but they could care less." I continued petting "Cat" and soon she was closing her eyes and reacting to the softness in my voice. "Well," I said to Ken. "It looks like I've got myself another cat." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Oh, your husband will love that!"
On the way home from work, "Cat" settled in gracefully in the crate. She didn't utter a peep like most cats do when they are traveling by car. I spoke to her often. "What shall we call you?" I asked. "You are much more deserving of a name other than 'Cat.'" As if to let me know she was in agreement, she mewed again. Suddenly I decided. "I'll call you Tara," I said to her. "That's a nice regal name." Again, she mewed softly. "Have you ever seen 'Gone with the Wind?" I asked, not expecting an answer, of course!
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