************************************************* Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith ******************************************************* THE WEEKLY COMPANION © For: Sunday, November 19, 2000 By: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith “America’s Premier Eventologist ®” adrienne@21stcentury.net RE: Another Definition of “Creature Comforts” November 17th is a Date in my Life that I wish I could have done over again. For back in 1968, I had rescued a small, frail gray & white Farm Cat from my Friend, Debbie Schmidt’s Pig Sty earlier that year…back in August. This little gray & white Ball of Fur was the most precious little Thing I had ever seen. I brought him into the City actually the town where we lived & gave him a “new life.” He went to the vets, got over his “sore eye” & became the most appreciative and happy little gray & white Ball of Fur on 4 paws. He was named Dumpling Daisy Dumpling was his official name & altho it seemed more like a Girl Cat’s Name, it somehow fit. “Dump” as we called him may have been the first Animal on the Planet to have a Unisex Name. For lack of a better word, for the time he lived with us Koopersmiths, he was a Creature that gave much Comfort, Love & Happiness. Running through the House, his Tail was always straight up. He always hummed and purred. He was The Best. Then on the evening of November 17th, Dumpling was “out later” than usual. I had forgotten to call “Dump” in & in the early evening when my Father came in, he found Dump’s marled Body at the door. Evidently, he had been attacked by a larger Animal and ran all the way home, up the hill to the front door to the Family that he loved, where he died. My Dad was enraged. At that time, there were neighbors in our area who were known for poisoning Animals, but this was criminal and nothing less. Dad immediately buried Dumpling out front, in front of our big Picture Window where he lies in Peace under his favorite evergreen. It’s amazing how such a small, precious little Creature could have struck the Hearts of a Family…that to this Day, on the 17th of November 32 years later, he is still remembered. If I had only gone to the door earlier and called him in, maybe I would have had more time with him…I sure wish I had. Last Sunday, on the 12th I was taking full advantage of my remote control & stumbled upon a terrific new Channel called PAX-TV. The programming dealt with Animals & their Relationship with Mankind. Three particular Stories touched me on how “Creature Comforts” really is not a remote control or anything else that may be “material” in essence that makes the good Life better, but the Feel you get when a Creature is there touching your Life in a very special way. One dealt with a stray Black Kitten. A couple who could not “conceive” adopted this Homeless Cat. A year later, the woman gave birth to a Child, a beautiful little girl & she felt the Cat (just a stray, let me remind you) was her good luck token. One afternoon, while the woman was visiting with her Parents in the den of their home, the Cat rapidly shot down the steps & jumped into her arms, meowing with vigor & sheer terror in his eyes. The woman placed the Cat down on the Floor & immediately the Cat did not know what to do. He tore back up the Steps to where the Baby lay in her Crib…choking! The Family had an intercom system, a Baby Monitor where you could hear the baby from room to room. However, it was not on at this particular time. The Cat jumped to the counter where the “high tech mechanism” was a small box & turned it over and over with his paw. “Turning it on” the Cat hissed and snarled & meowed with all his might. The sound of this “ferocious Cat” came through the “intercom” system loud & clear as if an entire football field was cheering on its heroes. All 3 adults raced up the Steps, in time to take the Baby to the Hospital. If it had not been for that “once a Stray,” the Family would have lost their Baby. All thanks to the Smarts of that beautiful Black Cat. That Saga happened 12 years ago & the End of the Story, it showed the “Baby Girl” all grown up as grown up as you can be for 12 with her “Cat” in the front yard. She was petting the Cat & was so happy she was able to spend so much time with her “Savior.” I guess you could say that this Black Cat gave his Mistress one of his 9 Lives. Another Story dealt with a young Boy, around 12 who went hunting with his Dad in the Woods. The Boy got lost & separated from his Dad. The Father called 911 & scouting teams looked all over for the Young Man. A night passed and he was alone in the Woods without even a jacket on, nor any food or water. On the 2nd Day, search dogs were called in. Helicopters were flying overhead and the Boy was found…alive and OK, (just a bit dehydrated) which for that season and time, was indeed a miracle by itself. When the Boy related his Story, the Adults were a bit perplexed and thought he had been hallucinating. During the night, two huge Elk Deer approached him while he lay asleep on the ground in a bed of leaves. He was frightened, at first, and began throwing stones at the Two-some, but they did not run off. After a while, they came nearer and nearer & laid down “around” the Boy. If it were not for their Body Heat (of the two great Animals) the Boy would have frozen to death. The inspectors looked around the area where the Boy was found & sure enough the impressions on the ground did prove his story to be right. Incredible and true. How other Species can care for Others. You’d think at this time, Mankind would take more of that Advice. The Third Story dealt with PayBack and how the Phrase: What goes around comes around and will bite you on the butt if you don’t watch out! A police officer was in the mists of raiding a drug house when he heard some yelps from a garbage bin. In it, he saw a black plastic bag. He opened up the bag and there was an abused Terrier who evidently had been used as “feed” for unsanctioned & illegal Dog Fights. The Pup was left there to die. The Officer rescued the Pup; took him to the local Animal Shelter and kept a watch on him till the Pup got better. It was decided that the Dog should be trained to be a Narc Dog ie: sniff out drugs. Fast-forwarding the Story, it turned out that this Dog became the Grand Champ Dog for assisting in more Drug Busts than any other Animal in the USA. Once used as “bait” by the Drug Dealers, the Little Pup, all grown up, was NOW fighting back & giving IT back to “The very Guys who thought they had done him in.” They were receiving a well-intended dose of their own medicine. The Dog won medals and awards, was lauded as a hero and had an Occupation and Station in Life. Owned by the man who found him, he was as proud as proud could be of his “Co-Worker. And these three Stories, combined with my Daisy Dumpling Memoir, is a nice thing to think about this Time of Year as we all give Thanks for the many Things we are blessed for. Let’s not forget the Animals & Animal Friends in our Lives that do provide the real “Creature Comforts” that we are thanking God for on Thanksgiving of 2000. END OF TEXT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BIO BRIEF: Contributor, Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith lives in Chicago, Illinois and is heralded as “America’s Premier Eventologist ®” by Washington, DC’s Insight Magazine. Having created over 1,250 HOLIDATES TO CELEBRATE ® since Wednesday, July 25, 1990, ASK believes “Every Day is a HOLIDATE ®” and quite appropriately a Miracle in and of itself. “ASK” may be reached at: adrienne@21stcentury.net for any CHAIR-ismatically inspired Quotes you may possess and would like to and CHAIR & lay upon her e-TABLE.