When Bunny first showed up at our back door, our dog Max didn't treat her like the neighborhood cats he'd chased away, Bunny was always different. She came up onto our deck, hungry and begging, an emaciated mama cat unable to nurse her kittens. We brought her a bowl of milk to start with, and Max, who normally would have charged ahead to get to the milk, just hung back, not trying to get the milk, simply watching her lap it up quietly. When she finished it, he tentatively crept forward and after a few minutes he began gently licking her head. She purred.
Bunny didn't come into our house that day, in fact it would be a few weeks before we saw her again.
But Max didn't forget about her. Even while she was away, he seemed to know that she was going to be his friend.
When we finally brought Bunny into our home for good, Max was excited and knew she was here to stay, and he was happy about it- He literally brought her every single toy he had-
One by one, he laid each of his toys down in front of her, with a little wag of his tail, as if to say, "Im glad you're here to stay now. I've been waiting and waiting for my friend to come."
Of course Bunny could not play with his toys, most of them were almost as big as she was!
But, she must have understood the offer of his toys meant he liked her and wanted her around.
She was never afraid of the giant dog.
When Max took walks Bunny trotted along beside him. People would come out of their houses to see her taking a walk with her friend.
Bunny was also the only cat allowed the privilege of laying on Max's bed. If any of our other cats tried it, he would poke them off the bed indignantly. But when Bunny laid down on Max's bed, Max just laid down beside her. If she took up too much room, he'd lay on the bare floor next to her instead of making her move.
Last year on the day before Christmas Eve, we lost Max to a heart attack. Today we had to say goodbye to our Bunny.
As the veterinarian examined Bunny, she had to tell us that there was no heartbeat: Bunny was gone. Then the doctor leaned down, kissed our cat on the head and told her, "Now you can go be with Max and you can go see your babies."
So Bunny was gone. After a long and stressful night, she had fallen asleep on my shoulder, relaxed and comfortable, ready to drift off into dreamland and leave the world behind.
And I'd like to think that when she woke up, Max was waiting there, along with Bunny's kittens ready to finally be with their mama.
And just like that day so many years ago, Max will greet her with a little wag of his tag, as if to say, "I'm glad you're here to stay now. I've been waiting and waiting for my friend to come."
