I remember when you posted this story. I was saddened by this. It made my heart ache for you.
I can assure you when I do laundry I make a point of looking every time at both the washer and dryer. "It is a habit now" Thank you for sharing this and I know it still hurts! Please don't be so hard on your self. She knows you didn't mean to harm her. It was an horrible accident that can happen to anyone of us. God had other plans for her I suppose. You wrote a beautiful poem and tribute about her. Happy birthday Angel Takarra! I hope you don't mind me passing this on this can save other cat/kitten lives. In a message dated 7/28/2007 9:58:37 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Body: I had planned to post this on Thursday, but was unable to do so. Please pass on anyways, It' the message that is important, not the day it's posted To all cat lovers Please read this and pass it on. Today is a very special day. It would have been the day my baby Takarra Tola turned 1 year old. Takarra, my brown spotted Bengal, died because of human error and I want to make sure her death wasn't in vain. Please read this and pass it onto other cat lovers, so that this will never happen again. Takarra Tola was a special cat to me. I loved her more than anything on Earth, including my husband and my other two cats. She was perfect in every way and she knew it. To make you truly understand how much loosing her hurt, we have to go back to Takarra's beginning with me. Takarra was born at a breeder's house on July 26th, 2006. She was 7 weeks when we first met and it was love at first meow! Takarra was so sweet and beautiful, I didn't even notice she wasn't the silver spotted male I wanted when I first began looking for my Bengal. There was something about her big amber eyes that smiled up at me through the box. All the other kittens were crying and throwing fits, but Takarra just looked up at me and I knew she was the one. Takarra came home 2 weeks later at 9 weeks old. She proved she loved me, but my husband was another story. She bit him the very first night! It wasn't her fault, she just wanted some roast! Takarra never really warmed up to Josh, but she did love me and we cuddled often. When Takarra was 3 months old, she became ill and we almost lost her. She fought her way back and made a full recovery, but she wasn't as active as before and somehow a different Bengal. During that time, she preferred the other cats to me. At 5 months Takarra went in to be spayed and returned to her loving self. Takarra was an angel and I was thrilled to have such a beautiful cat. I'll never forget the night of February 24, 2007. It was no different than any other Saturday really. Laundry, house cleaning, and all the usual stuff that filled my weekends when Josh wasn't at home. I went to my niece's birthday party, came home and threw my last load of cloths in the dryer. Little did I know, my baby girl got inside the dryer also. Just minutes before, she had been sound asleep on her cat tree in the other room. I even looked behind me to make sure that the Siamese were on the bed before I closed the door. I had heard of cats dying in the dryer, but like so many people, I didn't take the time to see if Takarra had left her cat tree. I never thought to look inside the dryer for her and that was a fatal mistake. My Bengal died that icky snowy night in February because I didn't look inside the dryer. She was 2 days away from being 7 months old. I've lived with a lot of guilt over the months since loosing Takarra. I've been told many times that it wasn't my fault, that it was an accident and even that Takarra's life was taken for a reason. God had better plans for her, people have told me. There's still guilt in my heart, but now there is also fear. Fear that this terrible accident will happen to someone else. Fear that another innocent life will be taken and so I have made it Takarra's purpose to in live and in death to remind everyone of what can happen in a mere 2 seconds that it takes to look and make sure your animals are safe from the dryer. We give our cats the best of everything. The best food, the best toys, the best litter. We often love them as if they were really our children and we wish no harm upon them. We want our cats with us as long as they can be, but weather it's 20 years of 7 short months, we always cry when they are gone. Please, take the 2 seconds extra to look inside your dryer. Your pet is worth it and the results of not looking are a lifetime of loneliness and heart ache that this tragedy is sure to bring. Take my word on this. I've been there and lived the nightmare. I am also inviting each and every person who reads this to stop by my Myspace page and see pictures of Takarra as well as the rest of my cats. They are all special in their own way and I go to extra lengths now to make sure they are happy and most of all, safe from the dryer. Takarra is gone because I didn't look, but maybe my little fur angel can protect your cats from the same fate. Each time you do your laundry, please take 2 seconds to make sure your cats aren't inside before you hit start. no cat deserves to die a death like my Takarra did. Here is a poem I wrote for Takarra. Cat Nip Mice in Heaven I thought the months would make it easier, That time would heal my wounds- I miss you, my baby girl, with everything in my heart. I wish we were together instead of apart. I thought I could forgive myself for your death- I thought I could let go- I no longer cry each night- It still hurts so badly though. Can I ever forgive myself? Today you would have been one. I feel so bad, so guilty, Your life had just begun. Are there cat nip mice in heaven? I look up at night to see if you're playing among the stars. In my mind, I wonder if you found your way to the rainbow bridge, And in my heart I wonder if my wounds will ever become merely scars. I know it was just a mistake that God took you from me. Maybe he needed you more than I? Do you sit in his lap and purr? Or do you look down at me and cry? I know I look up often and hope you're watching over me- Some days it's harder than others to deal with the pain. I look for answers to why you were taken away. And when it storms, I wonder are there kitten tears in the rain? You wrapped your paws around my soul And you left love spots in my heart. You're my angel kitten now. It seems like forever that we've been apart. Enjoy the fields of butterflies. Until we are together again, Enjoy the Cat tree in the sky, And play with the cat nip mice in heaven. Happy birthday my sweet baby. © Chanda Healton Happy birthday my sweet Angel kitten! May you find all the happiness in the world on the Cat Tree in the Sky! I love you and you'll never be forgotten. I only wish you were here to share this day with me. Chanda Healton E-mail: _casey_mears_casey_mears_cas_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) Myspace: _http://www.myspace.http://www.myspah_ (http://www.myspace.com/lovemysiamese) Terrie Mohr-Forker TAZZY'S ANIMAL TRANSPORTS SIAMESE & COLLIE RESCUE Donations accepted at: _https://www.paypal.com/_ (https://www.paypal.com/) _http://www.tazzys-siameses-collies.petfinder.org/_ (http://www.tazzys-siameses-collies.petfinder.org/) _http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wasiameserescue_ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wasiameserescue) _http://hometown.aol.com/tatorbunz/myhomepage/petmemorial.html_ (http://hometown.aol.com/tatorbunz/myhomepage/petmemorial.html) _http://www.felineleukemia.org/_ (http://www.felineleukemia.org/) _http://www.hometown.aol.com/tatorbunz/index.html_ (http://www.hometown.aol.com/tatorbunz/index.html) _http://www.petloss.com/_ (http://www.petloss.com/) ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
