The Cat Rescue
The joy of travel is not knowing what your next adventure will bring, or more importantly – what your next life’s lesson will teach you. We had one such lesson that was a sad, but telling story of life and the limits of love and commitment.
It began as our first jungle adventure in Ecuador –starting out with a gorgeous and interesting five and a half hour bus ride to our final destination in what must have been the last town before the jungle …Misahuilli - a one taxi town where, during a pouring rain storm, the taxi had apparently gone home for the night. However, with the help of a local merchant, we were able to find a ride to our jungle habitat – the Banana Lodge.
The following morning we woke up to the sounds of the jungle, noises that we’ve never heard before, all natural…peaceful…tranquil. We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast followed by a leisurely hike, taking in the sights of the nearby river, the Ecuadorian lifestyle, and makeshift architecture that employed sticks and bamboo to prop up water lines and to serve as telephone poles. And while the housing was very modest, by our standards, they all came equipped with Direct TV satellite dishes.
It was when we crossed over the river, that, unbeknownst to us, we were crossing over into an emotional abyss. On the other side, we encountered a lame, injured cat lying in the middle of this sunbaked, hot, dry, dirt road - with a very bad, infectious cut on its leg - looking like it was on its last leg. My wife, Greer, and my 13-year-old son, Grant, being the animal lovers that they are, could not let it be. Squeamish me, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. Greer was in a panic, she could not leave this frail feline stranded in the middle of the road, defenseless to oncoming traffic and the elements of the equatorial heat. Yet, finding veterinarian services in this remote region of Ecuador was as likely as finding a mouse at a cat convention. With few other options…thus began the animal rescue!
Grant went into action – he whipped out his knife and jumped into EMT mode. He created a makeshift stretcher from some plastic material he found on the side of the road. Greer provided assistance in getting the nearly dying cat onto the stretcher – using techniques she gleaned from years of watching “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” With the cat securely on the stretcher, they slowly and steadily transferred it to the safety and shade of the side of the road, by some water, so it could drink, stay cool and recover. Mission Accomplished, or so we thought (now we know how George Bush felt). The cat, it turns out, had a different plan. Unmoved, and perhaps slightly annoyed, by the gallant efforts of his two would-be saviors, he refused to drink the water. And, to add insult to injury, (not to the wounded leg, but to the psyche of the rescue team), dragged himself, lame leg and all, over to the exact same sunbaked, hot, dry, dusty, dangerous spot in the middle of the road where we found him. Baffled, bewildered and bemused, we continued on with our hike, not knowing, but having a pretty good idea, of the fate of our feeble feline.
The original destination of our hike - to see to the biggest tree ever – was nestled in among the forest. The base of the tree was HUGE – taking almost 40 people stretched arm to arm to get around its circumference. Yet, as big as it was, we almost missed it. Apparently, nature does not provide road signs signifying “Jungle Attraction, Gargantuan Tree - 40 paces to the right.” But when we finally arrived it was a beautiful sight… a testament to the grandeur of nature and its limitless possibilities.
However, upon our return back to our lodging (and the cat), we were faced with the limits of our own powers and the true power of nature’s course. Our boys did not want to see what had become of the cat’s fate, so I ventured ahead to confirm what we had already surmised; he was lying in his final resting spot, right where we had found him. The rest of the family hurried past the spot, paying their last respects. If we had thought to give him a proper burial, I can’t remember, but I believe that we were all overwrought and just wanted to return to the pleasantries of our vacation.
This story revealed a lot about our family. Grant and Greer really wanted to rescue the cat from itself, but to no avail. My 10-year-old son, Garrett, was very philosophical about the whole thing, explaining how maybe the cat was just unable to accept their help, but that it was a good deed all the same. I was willing, like Garrett, to let nature take its course, though much less philosophical, I just didn’t want to get near it. I was so proud of Grant and Greer for their compassion and efforts in helping this poor animal, a small act of kindness in its final hour. It also said a lot about “cattitude”…nothing or nobody, not even a potentially life saving effort, was going to tell this cat what to do. However, the cat did spend the last of his nine lives knowing that someone cared.
The joy of travel is not knowing what your next adventure will bring, or more importantly – what your next life’s lesson will teach you. We had one such lesson that was a sad, but telling story of life and the limits of love and commitment.
It began as our first jungle adventure in Ecuador –starting out with a gorgeous and interesting five and a half hour bus ride to our final destination in what must have been the last town before the jungle …Misahuilli - a one taxi town where, during a pouring rain storm, the taxi had apparently gone home for the night. However, with the help of a local merchant, we were able to find a ride to our jungle habitat – the Banana Lodge.
The following morning we woke up to the sounds of the jungle, noises that we’ve never heard before, all natural…peaceful…tranquil. We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast followed by a leisurely hike, taking in the sights of the nearby river, the Ecuadorian lifestyle, and makeshift architecture that employed sticks and bamboo to prop up water lines and to serve as telephone poles. And while the housing was very modest, by our standards, they all came equipped with Direct TV satellite dishes.
It was when we crossed over the river, that, unbeknownst to us, we were crossing over into an emotional abyss. On the other side, we encountered a lame, injured cat lying in the middle of this sunbaked, hot, dry, dirt road - with a very bad, infectious cut on its leg - looking like it was on its last leg. My wife, Greer, and my 13-year-old son, Grant, being the animal lovers that they are, could not let it be. Squeamish me, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. Greer was in a panic, she could not leave this frail feline stranded in the middle of the road, defenseless to oncoming traffic and the elements of the equatorial heat. Yet, finding veterinarian services in this remote region of Ecuador was as likely as finding a mouse at a cat convention. With few other options…thus began the animal rescue!
Grant went into action – he whipped out his knife and jumped into EMT mode. He created a makeshift stretcher from some plastic material he found on the side of the road. Greer provided assistance in getting the nearly dying cat onto the stretcher – using techniques she gleaned from years of watching “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” With the cat securely on the stretcher, they slowly and steadily transferred it to the safety and shade of the side of the road, by some water, so it could drink, stay cool and recover. Mission Accomplished, or so we thought (now we know how George Bush felt). The cat, it turns out, had a different plan. Unmoved, and perhaps slightly annoyed, by the gallant efforts of his two would-be saviors, he refused to drink the water. And, to add insult to injury, (not to the wounded leg, but to the psyche of the rescue team), dragged himself, lame leg and all, over to the exact same sunbaked, hot, dry, dusty, dangerous spot in the middle of the road where we found him. Baffled, bewildered and bemused, we continued on with our hike, not knowing, but having a pretty good idea, of the fate of our feeble feline.
The original destination of our hike - to see to the biggest tree ever – was nestled in among the forest. The base of the tree was HUGE – taking almost 40 people stretched arm to arm to get around its circumference. Yet, as big as it was, we almost missed it. Apparently, nature does not provide road signs signifying “Jungle Attraction, Gargantuan Tree - 40 paces to the right.” But when we finally arrived it was a beautiful sight… a testament to the grandeur of nature and its limitless possibilities.
However, upon our return back to our lodging (and the cat), we were faced with the limits of our own powers and the true power of nature’s course. Our boys did not want to see what had become of the cat’s fate, so I ventured ahead to confirm what we had already surmised; he was lying in his final resting spot, right where we had found him. The rest of the family hurried past the spot, paying their last respects. If we had thought to give him a proper burial, I can’t remember, but I believe that we were all overwrought and just wanted to return to the pleasantries of our vacation.
This story revealed a lot about our family. Grant and Greer really wanted to rescue the cat from itself, but to no avail. My 10-year-old son, Garrett, was very philosophical about the whole thing, explaining how maybe the cat was just unable to accept their help, but that it was a good deed all the same. I was willing, like Garrett, to let nature take its course, though much less philosophical, I just didn’t want to get near it. I was so proud of Grant and Greer for their compassion and efforts in helping this poor animal, a small act of kindness in its final hour. It also said a lot about “cattitude”…nothing or nobody, not even a potentially life saving effort, was going to tell this cat what to do. However, the cat did spend the last of his nine lives knowing that someone cared.