THE STORY OF SALLY

(A lament by a kitten found half frozen and saved by the DNR head security officer at Salamonie Reservoir, Huntington County, Indiana. When interviewed, the Officer said that at most any time there are around 75 abandoned animals in the Salamonie Reservoir area. He advised anyone having an unwanted pet to get in touch with the SPCA)

It was not a dark and stormy night, but it was a dimly lit freezing cold off-road hunter sing-in area. I was found two years ago at Salamonie Reservoir just south of Andrews, Indiana. Now, I’m two years old by actual time measurements but they say I’m older by human age comparison to cats. Someone said I’ll be 24 but I’m only just starting to go from a kitty ‘mew’ to a cat’s ‘meow.’

I was just freshly weaned and then abandoned (thrown away) in a cardboard box. I was struggling to gain my bearings after having just crawled out of that dark icy cold wet cardboard box someone had put me and my siblings in before dumping us out on the ground at the end of the Security Officer’s outer area.

I looked around adjusting my eyes to the dim light. I was alone; my brothers and sisters were nowhere in sight. I’d never been alone in my entire whole short life and I was scared. I looked in the box for a way to get back in out of the chilling wind. Someone had punched holes in the lid to let us breathe. I don’t think they took into consideration that if the coyotes, bobcats, or foxes didn’t kill and eat us, then we would surely die a slow and numbing death by freezing; starvation would take longer but suffocation would have come before anything else.

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I wanted to get back in the box as I was starting to shiver uncontrollably. That’s when the Security Officer noticed me and got out of his truck to see if I was alive. Feeling my little heartbeat, he realized I was still alive and put me in his warm coat pocket. I was too tired and shivering to give out a warning hiss like mom taught me. I did try to run but I was too stiff and cold to even move; I opened and closed my eyes to let him know I was ok, cold, but alive. I was frightened. alone, hungry, and downright confused as to what was happening and why. Only in desperation did I try to run. After picking me up he visually checked the surrounding area for signs of other abandoned kittens or puppies.

The officer’s family adopted me and gave me a name and a home. I now have food, water, a litter box, and a warm bed; all the necessities of life. What more could a girl want?