Lost Little Guy receives on-going neighborly
support
Editor's note: This is a story of hope, family and community
support. Although unresolved Suzanne and Genevieve remain hopeful
in their search and have already solicited much community support
since last fall. This is part one of their story; part two will be
printed in next week's edition.
"This is Vermont. We are all neighbors." My daughter and I were
home in Maryland when we heard Governor Shumlin say these words
after last summer's terrible floods. We had been preparing dinner,
but we both stopped, and looked at each other, touched by his
comment.
I had recently had a fire at my home in Rockville, Maryland and
unfortunately we had discovered that in our bigger suburbs down
here, the support of neighbors in a crisis is not always so
common.
The months after the fire were rough, compounded by asbestos
contamination, disreputable contractors, and long delays. My
daughter said she wanted to give me a week in a beautiful place as
a chance to rest and recover before the next round of rebuilding
and insurance work that was coming. We had never been to Vermont,
but after the governor's quote, we chose to go. "Vermont needs
tourists," he had also said, "and the floods shouldn't stop
that." Going to a state with the spirit the governor spoke
about seemed right to us. Little did we know that by the end
of that week, we were going to need to rely on the kindness of
strangers- our neighbors in Vermont. Little did we know how right
the Governor was.
Our family is small - my daughter and I, and our two little cats
who we rescued from the animal shelter as kittens. We brought
them with us. They were recovering from the fire too - Little Guy,
our small male cat had had the hardest time of all - he had been
trapped in the hottest, smokiest room of the house for six and a
half hours. But he is a survivor - as a kitten he had to undergo
three surgeries on crippled legs; he walks a little funny, but he
runs like the wind. Through all of this he and I have gotten
as close as a human and critter can be. Truth be told, I think
he has kept me going as much as I may have helped him.
Two nights before we were to leave Vermont, Little Guy slipped
out of our rented house on Lake Rescue in Ludlow, and got lost. We
were staying at #39 Benson Pt. off of Route 100, between route 103
and Echo Lake Inn, about a half-mile before Tyson Village
Store.
We didn't know that lost cats go into "survivor mode," unlike
dogs they don't come when called, even if their owner is just a few
feet away, they stay still and silent and hidden, following ancient
instincts to protect themselves from potential prey. We spent a lot
of time looking, but to no avail. He was a champion at survival
hunkering down too well.
After long days and nights of looking, we had to go back home -
the hardest drive we ever had to take was leaving Vermont without
him - and with a Vermont winter coming.
Back home, over the terrible weeks and months without him, we
researched and learned a lot about lost cats, how well they
survive, and how they are recovered. We discovered that
the key to most of their amazing recoveries is the eyes and ears of
others - that despite the fact that we are very private people and
this was a very personal and private pain, that our best hope of
finding him was to let as many people know as possible - our
neighbors in Vermont.
We also discovered that cats do survive - far longer
than any of us would expect. But to get found, they need many
"eyes" looking, many people armed with the right information to be
able to see him, and call us when they do. I had to find the
courage not to keep my pain and fear private, but to knock on as
many doors as I could. And wait. It was a long, long
winter, and we are still looking. If you are in the area please
help us by keeping an eye out.
Thank you, our neighbors in Vermont. Please don't stop
looking.
~Suzanne and Genevieve
For more information about Little Guy and tips to help find him
visit: www.NewtonsWindow.com/LittleGuy or call
303-912-9836 or 303-947-1329.
Tagged:
Letter to the Ludlow Community, Little Guy
