My brother has always been a dog kind of guy. We grew up with dogs, and just always accepted that a family isn't complete without a dog. It wasn't until about 15 years ago that I got introduced to cats, but in that 15 years I've learned that a house without at least one cat just isn't a home.

My grandmother passed away about 8 years ago. Pat (my brother) moved into her house and took over caring for her Springer Spaniel (Bridget) and her Siamese (Samantha). Pat had never really been exposed to cats, but pretty quickly came to care deeply for Samantha as well as Bridget.

Pat and Bridget were inseparable. Everywhere Pat went, Bridget went with. Every Sunday when the family gathered at the local Starbucks, Bridget was there for her Frappucino. When Bridget was diagnosed with cancer, Pat was devastated. The vet gave her 2 months to 6 months of comfortable living. Pat took her home, and we all tried to cope as best we could.

We could tell when Bridget was starting to feel the effects of the cancer. One of her favorite things to do had been to watch for people walking close to her fence, run up to them, and bark. When she stopped doing that, we knew her time was drawing near. Apparently, so did Samantha. One warm afternoon Pat, Bridget, and Samantha were all sitting in the front yard when a group of noisy kids walked past. Bridget raised her head to watch them but didn't try to bark at them. Samantha, though, decided to help her D-pet friend - she ran to the fence, arched her back, and hissed and spitted at the kids! Talk about surprised - they had never been "barked at" by a cat before! We were all touched when we heard that - Samantha taking over guard duties for her friend Bridget.

When Bridget finally passed the whole family was torn up, but Pat was especially hurting. Samantha knew that, and tried to take up the slack in more areas. She started demanding cuddles when she used to be uninterested in cuddling, started demanding company when she went out back to check on the turkeys - in short, she started doing her best to demand Pat's attention and keep him busy.

It wasn't until Pat got a new dog that Samantha seemed to catch on that her dog friend was gone for good. About a week after Pat adopted Maggie (a new Springer), Samantha started acting depressed and listless. The vet didn't find anything wrong with her, so we think she finally figured out that Bridget was gone for good. She's now getting back to normal (we're all being sure to give her lots of attention), but that dear, sweet kitty seems to have been pining for her late dog-friend.

Copyright © Dan Mahoney
January 8, 2003