Innocence is a litter of puppies
Boxed and left beside the trash can
Their very existence treated as disposable
Their confused and scared whimpers go unheeded
Its not their fault their purebred mother mated with a strange mutt
How can anyone look into their eyes
And walk away without feeling guilt or grief?

Innocence is a litter of kittens
Dumped off on the side of the highway
They’re so young, their lives barely begun
Their mother no longer answers their cries
Their only crime was to be born
How can anyone look into their eyes
And turn away from the trust and love offered?

Innocence is the young dog
Hunting season is over, his work is done
He finds himself chained to the backyard tree
Nowhere to go but an endless circle
He whines and barks his question, ‘what did I do wrong?’
How can anyone look into his eyes
And not see the desperate sadness and loneliness?

Innocence is the adult cat
Suddenly cast into a strange cage at the pound
Huddled in fear and confusion
Bereft of the only home she has ever known
Abandoned by those she loved and trusted
How can anyone look into her eyes
And not feel the hurt and betrayal?

Innocence is the adult dog
Standing quietly in the pound kennel
His face intent on the door in the far end
Listening and waiting in vain for familiar footsteps
That will not come to take him away from death row
How can anyone look into his eyes
And not see hope die as his time grows short?

Innocence is needlessly being destroyed
By irresponsibility, cruelty and apathy
By erosion of sacrosanct reverence for life
They have no voice in which to speak in their defense
All they ever wanted was our love
How can anyone look into their eyes
And not see our own souls reflected there?

©L. Kupfer
All rights reserved

RIP, Merlin
May 2003 – March 16, 2012

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don’t they understand? asked God
That you’ll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is….forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am….forever and ever and ever.

For Lucas
August 2006(?) – March 15, 2012

Tigger
May 2005 – February 16, 2012

If it should be, that I grow frail and weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then, you must do what must be done
For this, the last battle, can’t be won.
Don’t let your grief stay your hand,
For this day more than the rest,
Your love and friendship stand the test.
We’ve had so many years,
What is to come can hold no fear.
You’d not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, please let me go.
Take me where my needs they’ll tend,
Only, stay with me to the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time you’ll see it is a kindness you do for me
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I’ve been saved.
Don’t grieve it should be you who this thing decides to do.
We’ve been so close, we two, these years,
Don’t let your heart hold tears.
Smile, for we walked together for a while.

~author unknown~

“No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.” – Leo Dworken

“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!” – Theophile Gautier

“The really great thing about cats is their endless variety. One can pick a cat to fit almost any kind of decor, color, scheme, income, personality, mood. But under the fur, whatever color it may be, there still lies, essentially unchanged, one of the world’s free souls.” – Eric Gurney

Those quotes are a perfect fit for Whiskey, who we rescued from animal control along with his mom and 3 siblings when they were only 24 hours old. Whiskey grew up to be a big sturdy goofball tabby boy, and he certainly left his big pawprints in our hearts. We couldn’t let him suffer any more from whatever problems he was having with his liver, so we tearfully set him free to cross the rainbow bridge yesterday. Fly, Whiskey, fly – find Bandit, Bali, Whiskers, and Oreo over there beyond the Rainbow Bridge. We will always love you, you silly kamakize kat.

~ Ernest Hemingway ~