This is the next to last Barney installment. Today I'd like to talk about determination, perseverance and courage. As humans we think we have the corner on all that. Those animals without reasoning ability, we think, are inferior and void of any kind of human characteristics and capabilities. But I would submit to you that sometimes they are far superior to us on so many levels. I'm sure Barney never expected to have to travel with me to 26 different locations, but he did! And it wasn't without its problems, nor was he mute in voicing his opinion. He was determined to be 'heard.' Now he didn't speak to me per se, but he sure let me know he didn't like moving. After the third move I noticed he would urinate on plastic bags hanging around. It was his way of showing me that he was not pleased. In knowing that, it made me put things away rather quickly too, so in all honesty, he really helped me. But he had an innovative side to his personality too. Around the tenth time moving he came up with something new. When I would bring boxes into the house to begin packing, he would shred them with his nails. My answer to him was to put the boxes in a closet so he wouldn't destroy them. Yes, he was quite a character. After that he would just glare at me when I began another moving adventure. He adapted far better than I ever could. He'd find his corner of tranquility and I would find him sleeping peacefully as I was being crazy over all the mess. In some ways though it helped me to calm down sooner than I normally would. If he was happy, I was happy. Being a sap for a sad story, I would take in strays now and then. Also there was a lady who owned a pet store and she would contact me from time to time to care for very young kitties whose mother had died or had been left by some uncaring person outside her store. I'd bring them home and bottle feed them for her until they were ready for sale at her store. Through it all, Barney was there as the designated babysitter/surrogate parent. I would say to him... "They are just babies!" It seemed he understood. He would cuddle with them and groom them. He was a good Daddy to many orphans we cared for through the years. We even had other species he had to deal with, among them a rabbit, several birds (parakeets), a scad of kittens and one time a severely demented black Labrador retriever. Keisha was her name. OMG she was a terror. I had her all of five days. I went to church one day and came home an hour later. She had gotten into the 50-lb. bag of kitty litter and had torn the bag and scattered the whole thing all over the apartment. She also had single-handedly removed all the curtains from the windows and somehow had gotten into the refrigerator and helped herself to anything she liked. I found Barney on top of the kitchen cupboards where he remained for the duration of her stay with us. Now tell me pets don't have perseverance! He survived all that. As I've mentioned before, he never took to the outdoors. He hated even being by an open window with a breeze. So actually being outside was rather traumatic for him. One night my hubby had decided to go to bingo. I had chores to catch up on so I opted to stay home. The bingo was at the fire station less than a quarter of a mile from our house. It was a hot summer night around 90 still at 8 pm. I had all I could do to finish up the chores. I couldn't wait to sit down and just be. As I was finishing up the dishes I heard the smoke alarm upstairs shriek. "What now?" I thought. I opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. The stairway went up three steps and then turned abruptly left to the longer flight up. I went up the three stairs and was stunned at the sight. The whole upstairs was engulfed in flames. Barney leaped from near the top step and firmly implanted himself on my chest. Poor Bebe was so scared. I turned quickly, closed the door and brought Barney outside and dropped him on the ground. There were other animals inside I had to save too. I know it was foolhardy and dangerous to go back in, but I couldn't bear the thought of them being in there. There were 2 parakeets, the rabbit, Thumper, and two little kittens, Fric and Frac. I got them all out safely, but on the return trips I suffered smoke inhalation.
As my hubby was playing bingo the fire alarm went off. Being right there he heard the announcement come over the air from 911. As the recognition came over him that it was his address, he dropped everything and headed for home. He actually made it before the fire trucks did. He came home to find me on the ground gasping for breath with Barney clinging to me. I don't think I will ever forget the look on Barney's face as he leaped through the air to escape the flames. It was the look of sheer terror.
When the fire trucks and ambulance arrived they put me in and rushed me to the hospital. The hubby was left to deal with all the goings on at the time. The hospital treated and released me that night. A friend came to our rescue and we stayed there for about 10 days until the insurance kicked in and paid us a little of what we had lost.
The birds being sensitive to smoke died a few days later. The kittens went to the pet store and the rabbit was let out to 'go wild.' Barney seemed lost, poor thing. But the friend had six cats so his life was taking another turn.
All females, he soon learned what pecking order meant. He'd hiss and whine, but they kept him in line. He went from king to serf in no time. One I think he fell in love with. She was the only one who didn't spit at him and we would find them curled up together all the time. And then there was the feline version of Keisha the crazy dog. Barney wouldn't give up any ground to her. He took his stand often enough that she finally gave up and gave in. His courage knew no bounds.
I'm sure he had the heart of a panther. His perseverance, determination and courage was only outweighed by his innate ability to keep loving people in spite of all the moves and turmoil. Somewhere in Kitty Heaven he is shining and strong and vital once again. I'm sure of it.
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