Editor’s note: This week’s column is part 1 of 2.

"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" 

A few years ago in the middle of January, Gery, my mother, and I were traveling  back and forth between town and our house,  when one day we spotted a very skinny  dog at the end of a driveway of a house that had a for sale sign posted. The dog was gnawing on the half carcass of a deer that someone threw on the side of the road. I pulled into the driveway and a calico cat with a "cauliflower’ bent ear, ran down to greet us. Knowing that both were hungry and probably abandoned, we drove home and gathered both dog and cat food, along with water and bowls, then went back to the driveway. Both ate hungrily all that we left for them. I fed Muffin on the hood of my car, as Lucy was so hungry all of the time that she tried to finish the cat food if it was left on the ground.This ritual continued every day for about 2 weeks until the dog no longer appeared. We had nicknamed the dog Lucy and the cat my mother named Rag Muffin. For days, we saw no sign of Lucy and prayed that someone saw her sweetness and rescued her. Rag Muffin was now on her own.

One morning, she did not run down to greet us and we immediately thought of the coyotes who travel here at night. It was drizzling rain and cold. I ventured up the driveway and heard her meowing. Muffin was leaning against the side of the house with her back legs sprawled and as I began to pick her up, her pitiful cries told me that she was hurt. We immediately went  back to our house and got a pet carrier, calling the Veterinarian in the meantime.  Despite her opposition, she was placed in the carrier, then  X- rayed to reveal a broken pelvis which the Vet said  was probably due to being run over by a car. If that was the case, she was hit in the driveway and crawled to the side of the house to be out of the rain. The Vet told us that cats are healing machines and with time, she would be able to walk again. She got her vaccinations a week later.

Rag Muffin now had a safe home despite the dirty looks from our other cat when she was introduced. For three weeks, Muffin lived in a crate with food and water. For the bathroom necessities, I had her on a mat and half lifted and half dragged her, while on the mat, to the kitty litter box where she gallantly pulled herself up over the edge, but never quite making the mark in the litter box. With no feeling in her back legs, how did she know that she wasn’t quite far enough in  the box? Her appetite was great and her attitude was wonderful. We had carpet in the living room and she would drag herself with the front legs hooking her claws into the rug. At four weeks, she ventured out of the crate and walked around dragging her back leg on the floor, now being able to go to her food and water bowl in the kitchen.

Remember to shop for bargains at the DeKalb Animal Coalition Place, 110 W. Walnut St. in Smithville, Fri. 10-4 and Sat. 10-2. All proceeds go directly to the new shelter’s fund. providing supplies, food in the near future for the dogs and cats,  and other  animal necessitates. We can use donations of book shelves and tables, please bring them down to the store. Drive by the shelter to see the great progress!