“Healing”
Irene stands at the edge of the water, the sun-warmed liquid lapping at her toes. She watches the waves catch swimmers and surfers alike as they squeal with glee. Thankfully, Irene rented part of a private beach with a hundred others (otherwise she couldn’t afford it) so the community had regular trash cleanup. All that remained was several families enjoying their day in the sun. A smile overtakes her face as a dog runs up to greet her.
“Hello, big guy!” Irene murmurs to the dog as he barks then runs toward the newcomers on the beach. The dark brown colouring of his fur reminds Irene of her childhood dog, Rocky. The memory of rolling down hills with a brown blur spring to her mind. Despite the many years since, she swears she can still smell the grass bleeding into her shorts and the feel of a slightly wet nose on her face. Perhaps it’s time for another dog…or maybe a cat this time, Irene wonders.
Feeling a sun-burn starting, Irene walks the five-or-so minutes to her parked car. Once inside, she spends several more moments taking in the view and the calmness of the air. The beach was concealed by a partial cliff on one side, a main reason why it is a private beach, and an easy-to-miss trial among the trees. It was a little hard to find, but once you stumble on the worn-down desire path the beach is only five minutes away from the parking lot.
With a last glance, she drives off. A downside to this beach is that to keep it hidden, the town is nearly 30 minutes away. Irene doesn’t mind the drive, it gives her time to ponder which rescue shelter she will visit. The loss of Rocky, for a lack of a better word, rocked her world and nearly shattered it. She couldn’t understand how some people viewed the loss of a pet as something trivial when it hurts the same as any loss. It happened five years ago, old-age cannot be pushed back and Rocky held on as long as he could. Long enough for Irene to travel back home for a month from her time abroad. He died on her third day back. The rest of that month was filled with crying as her and her family packed up his favourite toys to donate to a rescue shelter. They had no other pets so it felt good to donate something so well-loved to a dog waiting for their forever home. It’ll make them feel more comfortable until they can leave, Irene thought at the time.
Her parents recovered, but Rocky was Irene’s boy. He snuggled with her at night, only walked with her, even danced—it was the only trick she could teach him—and bonded with Irene more.
Irene wipes her tears as she turns into the town, she parks outside of “Rescue Me Shelter & Daycare”. Just a look, it won’t hurt.
Irene pushes open the double doors and the smell of wet-dogs welcomes her. “Hello! Welcome to Rescue Me, is there something I can help you with today?” A ponytailed teenage boy asks.
“I would like to see the animals ready for adoption?”
The boy grins. “Of course, right this way.” He walks around the circular counter and nods towards a hallway. “You came on a good day, we just washed them so they’ll be all soft and fluffy for you.”
Irene laughs. She follows the teenager who leads her down the hallway and through several doors until they walk into one labelled “showroom”.
“These are all of are available animals. We have cats at the front, dogs in the middle, and birds on the right. We also have some reptiles on the left if that strikes your fancy?” There were two big fenced in pens with beds, food, and water. The cat pen was the closest, so Irene bent down to look them. There were kittens, adult, and senior cats interacting with one another. At her approach, the kittens dash away but the senior cats purred and drew closer to Irene’s outstretched hand. “They’re beautiful.”
“Yeah, we got some cuties in there. The kittens are a nightmare, but you didn’t hear that from me.” They share a laugh and an unknown tension starts to seep away from Irene’s chest. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”
A grey senior cat bumps Irene’s hand. “Not really, I honestly wasn’t planning on coming but today felt right.”
“Who did you lose?” The teenager steps beside her and separates the kittens from fighting.
“What?” Irene’s hand scoots away from the senior cat who immediately follows.
“You have that look that comes with loss. It’s a guilty sort of look when you don’t want to replace an animal.”
Irene chuckles wetly. “We must come here a lot huh?”
“Oh yeah. Your lot often scouts the place for a while and then maybe comes inside for a look then leaves." They are silent.
Irene looks around at the kittens, avoiding the dog pen, birds, and reptiles. “I lost my childhood dog a while ago. I thought that coming to the place we donated his old toys would…I don’t know, feel healing somehow? But now that I’m here…I can’t even look at them.” She points to the dog pen.
The teenager hums. “Yeah, that’s tricky.” The teenager thinks for a moment, before replying. “Actually we have some pets that need fostering.”
“Fostering?”
“Yeah, it’s a program where we inspect your home and background to make sure your safe. If you pass and hand in some forms we place animals with you until they get adopted. It’s still sad when they leave your care but it’s less. It’s also easier if you have a pet, but that’s not a requirement.”
Irene blinks and turns her head to look at the very adorable and excited dogs. She could foster them…love them from afar knowing they will be going to their forever homes. “I could do that.”
“Perfect!” The teenager claps his hands and gathers the foster paperwork. The grey senior cat, who Irene’s brain has named Salty, continues to rubs her hand while purring incessantly. Now that Irene looks fully at the cat, she notices a small teddy bear underneath it. She stills. It’s Rocky’s, she could identify it anywhere. But it’s been years, surely the shelter would have thrown it out by now. “Hey, what’s that underneath her?”
The teenager pops his head down to look, “Oh! That’s Thomas the Teddy, it calms all the cats but she’s claimed since she got here a few years ago.”
Irene shakes her head, “I guess I’ll need adoption papers as well, this old girl’s coming home with me.”
