The Cat That Went to Homecoming Page 3

  “Now you can transport Hershey in the style a prince like he deserves,” she said with a big smile.

  The day before our appointment, Hershey and I went for our afternoon walk. Hershey took off, leading me in the direction of his choice. He made frequent stops to chew on grass and roll around. He was fearless that day, and in the mood to stay out, so we kept walking, not paying any attention to where we were. Before I knew it, we ended up in front of Cindy Haskel’s house as she was walking down her driveway.

  “Wow, I never saw anyone walk a cat before, that is so cool!” she said before she opened her mail box and retrieved the family’s mail. She crouched down to pet Hershey. Hershey remained still and allowed her to stroke his back, all the while looking up at her with a watchful eye. He didn’t seem to know how to react to this person he never met before. Once she stood back up, he crawled atop my feet and lay across them. His eyes remained fixed on Cindy, but he did not seem as skeptical.

  “I, uh,” I stammered nervously, not knowing what to say. “I am just trying something new.”

  “Well, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. What a great idea!” Cindy said. “Do you have a minute to stop in?”

  I was scared at this point.

  I can’t do this! If I tell her “No” she might think I’m a snob and if I were to stay, I wouldn’t know what to say or do. How am I going to get out of this situation?

  Hershey seemed to read my mind. He stood up and reached up my legs like a toddler wanting to be picked up. I pulled him into my arms and he burrowed his face into the crook of my elbow, hiding. I looked at him and realized he was giving me an out.

  “Oh, Cindy, I’d love to, but this is the furthest Hershey and I have ever walked and I think he is a little freaked out. I’d better head back home with him. I’m sorry, but how about next time?”

  “That would be great.” She said sounding a little disappointed. She looked past me, wide-eyed.

  I turned to see what had Cindy so nervous, and there coming down the street on her bike was Darcel the Dreadful.

  That painful lump returned to my chest as I tried to swallow my fear. I felt my limbs go weak and I nearly dropped Hershey. Cindy noticed my discomfort. She put her hand on my shoulder and whispered, “Don’t let Darcel bother you, Ellen. She’s nothing but a self-centered, spoiled witch. The day will come when she will get what she deserves.”

  I nodded at Cindy, saying nothing, but letting my eyes thank her for her kindness. I turned to walk away as briskly as possible with Hershey still in my arms. He must have read the tension in my body because he started squirming, his hind claws digging into my stomach.

  “Well, if it isn’t Ellen Ellen Watermelon!” The witch shrieked. “You must be exhausted from walking so far! And thank you for NOT putting on shorts and sparing us all the unpleasant sight! Does JMS even make shorts Ellen?” She asked.

  I kept walking, holding Hershey close to my face. I whispered reassuringly into his ear the entire way to distract myself as well as him.

  “You’re such a good boy, Hershey. I love you Hershey.” I whispered all kinds of sweet nothings to him, and his squirming stopped. His body was still stiff and on guard, but he remained focused on me and my words of encouragement.

  Darcel followed me all the way to my driveway, spouting all kinds of ugly, hateful comments. It was a very long walk, but whispering to Hershey helped me shut her out.

  Once we reached my driveway, Hershey squirmed and clawed at me until I let him down and he led me up the driveway on his leash, as if he was leading me to safety. Halfway up the drive, he turned in Darcel’s direction, arched his back and hissed.

  I had no idea whether Darcel noticed Hershey’s display of aggression because I was so shocked at it myself. He was protecting me!

  He marched us right up to the front door, and he sat waiting for me to open it. When we were safely inside, we both relaxed. I leaned against the shut door and closed my eyes while my heart rate slowed down. Hershey laid across the rug in the entryway, silently waiting for me to unwind.

  Chapter Six

  We arrived at the address for Paws That Heal, and I was a little surprised. It was a house, not a commercial building. The property that the home was on was wooded and secluded with colorful flower gardens surrounding an old wooden barn. The woman, whom I recognized as being the one from the news interview, greeted Mom and me and introduced herself as Jane.

  “Bring Hershey with you into the barn and make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

  I pulled the carrier out of the car and turned to face my mom. I was nervous and a little part of me wanted to turn around and leave, which mom sensed.

  “Don’t worry, Ellen, Hershey will be just fine.”

  I knew she was right, but it wasn’t HIM that I worried would fail. Would Jane reject us because I wasn’t thin and beautiful?

  Jane had instructed me to bring a towel, a brush, and some treats to the screening, so I grabbed the bag they were in and carried them in one hand, Hershey in his carrier in the other.

  We entered the barn, and I was taken aback by the rustic beauty of it. It was probably a hundred years old! Sun peaked through large cracks in the walls, and birds were nesting in the rafters high above our heads. It was huge, yet cozy. Jane had poster-sized pictures of different animal-human teams adorning one wall, and I imagined our picture hanging there one day.

  Hershey was getting restless in his carrier, so I let him out. He was already harnessed and leashed, so there was no chance he’d run away in fear. I crouched down to meet his eyes and said, “Here we are Hershey. This is your big day.”

  He rubbed his cheek against my face and meowed at me. I rubbed his chin, and he lay on the floor of the barn so I could pet his tummy.

  “This handsome little man must be Hershey,” Jane said, startling me because I did not hear her enter the barn.

  Hershey rolled back onto his feet and stood, keeping himself on guard. He watched Jane as she slowly approached us, but he did not back away. She crouched in front of him to stroke his head and he allowed her to do so, but looked up at me as if to make sure it was okay.

  “It’s okay Hershey,” I said to him. When Jane stood up, Hershey crawled atop my feet and lay down across them.

  “Do you see how confident he is that you are protecting him? He is lying across your feet in order to be touching you in some way. He’s not afraid and he’s not trying to hide or escape. This tells me that you two have an amazing bond,” Jane said.

  “Come sit and let’s talk for a little bit,” she said as she led my mom and me to a table set up near a computer. “Let me tell you about animal-assisted activities, and what you will need to do to become a part of our team.”

  Jane shared her credentials with us. She was a veterinarian technologist by trade with a degree in animal-assisted therapy as well as dog training. She began animal-assisted activities ten years ago and started her own business, Paws That Heal, after three years of animal therapy work.

  Jane told me about the different facilities and schools Hershey and I could volunteer at if we joined her team. Then she said it was time to evaluate Hershey to see if he had the right temperament.

  I followed her to the center of the barn carrying Hershey in my arms. The birds in the rafters above us were making noises that caught Hershey’s attention. He looked up at them in curiosity and watched them, but did not try to escape my hold.

  “Hershey is doing great so far,” she said. “Most cats can’t resist the lure of the barn swallows. He definitely notices them, but he isn’t trying to escape to chase them.”

  We were then put through a series of tests to see how Hershey reacted to different sounds, people, and actions. I held Hershey in my arms while Jane came at us briskly using a walker, dropped items behind us, wheeled towards us in a wheel chair, and pretended to be a child and gave aggressive child-like pets and hugs to Hershey. He was visibly uncomfortable with it all, but he stayed close to me
while I whispered reassuringly in his ear, “It’s all right Hershey, and I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Jane sat in a chair and asked me to lay the towel across her lap and give her Hershey’s brush.

  “For this test, you will have to put Hershey on my lap and he has to allow me to brush him and pet him for at least thirty seconds.”

  I wasn’t so sure Hershey would like me handing him off to a stranger. “You are allowed to crouch next to him and reassure him with your voice, but no touching.”

  I let out a deep breath, squatted down in front of Jane and put Hershey on her lap. He stood on her, looking up at me frightfully.

  “It’s okay Hershey, this is Jane. Jane won’t hurt you.”

  He circled her lap, and then lay down apprehensively. Jane smiled and slowly stroked his back.

  “May I brush him?” She asked me. I told her she could, and she started to brush his coat. He looked a little startled; no one had ever brushed him but me. He looked at me to see if it was okay. I gave him reassurance with my eyes and he looked back at me with half-closed lids. He was enjoying it.

  “Wow,” Jane said in surprise, “He’s actually purring, Ellen!”

  I smiled and said, “That’s my good boy.” It was hard not to touch him, but I used my eyes to show him I was there for him.

  He sat on her lap for well over a minute, in fact he made no attempt to jump off of her. I had to remove him myself!

  “This is the last test, Ellen,” Jane said. “Did you bring any treats?”

  “Yes,” I said. I walked back to the table and reached into the bag for his treats.

  “I’d like to see if he’ll take a treat from me,” she said. She pulled one out and offered it to Hershey open-handed. Hershey just looked at her hand, but he would not take the treat.

  “I never give him treats from my hand,” I explained to her. “He has never taken food from my hand.”

  Jane rubbed his head and smiled at me. “Well, that’s one thing you will need to work on. It is important that a cat be trained to take a treat out of the hand. People love to give the animals a treat, and they will expect them to take it out of their hand.”

  She went on to explain to me that cats cannot see beneath their noses, their “blind spot.” When a treat is offered to a cat open handed, the cat uses his nose to root around, searching for the treat by scent. The sensation of the nose bumping into a person’s hand brings pleasure to the person offering the treat. Often people that are being visited by animal-human teams are lonely, and experience very little touching. Just that little bumping of the nose into their hand brings a smile to their faces. It feels as if they are being petted by the animal.

  Hershey squirmed in my arms to be released, so I put him on the floor and allowed him to walk around. He immediately went to a small hole in the floorboard and peeked into it in fascination. Jane chuckled. Hershey looked up at Jane, and then walked over to her and rubbed up against her legs.

  She squatted to his level and rubbed his chin, his face aiming skyward and lids closed. He loved getting his chin rubbed.

  “Hershey is definitely a friendly cat who will socialize well with people. I have no doubt about that,” Jane said. “But, Ellen, let’s talk about you.”

  Gulp! Oh no! Here it comes; I’m not fit for the position physically. I wanted to leave before she could say this to me.

  She motioned for me to sit at the table with her. I picked Hershey up and carried him with me. I sat him on my lap and stroked his coat, heart pounding and eyes wide because I was so nervous.

  “Ellen, I can see that you and Hershey have an inseparable bond. Hershey has complete trust in you, and this is so important. Animals are naturally unpredictable, so anything can happen during a visitation. If the animal and the human handler work well together, the chances of problems arising lessen.

  “But, Ellen, you seem to be very insecure. You interact with Hershey and keep him calm and reassured, but you never made eye contact with me during the role playing exercises.”

  I swallowed hard and looked right into her eyes. I was terrified, but her eyes were so kind and gentle that I almost melted.

  “If I could make a suggestion, it would be that you work on conversation starters. When you hand Hershey off into someone’s lap, you want to squat down to his level and converse with the client. He can hear your voice, which will keep him at ease, and the client will enjoy the human interaction.”

  She suggested I start out by making a list of interesting cat facts to share with the client. “For instance, you could ask the client if they know what a cat’s whiskers are used for.”

  She placed a hand over one of mine, her eyes locked on mine, and said, “You are a beautiful person with a God-given gift. Open yourself up and allow that gift to shine.”

  I heard my mom sniffle. I had almost forgotten she was there! I glanced at her and she was crying.

  Jane looked over at my mom and smiled at her. “I am so glad to have met your daughter and Hershey today; you have raised a very special young lady here.”

  I had to swipe away a tear myself. I was so moved by Jane and suddenly very inspired.

  “Ladies, I think we should wrap this up. Each assignment in the field is two hours or less for the sake of the animal. We never want to overwhelm the animal; he is your first priority. When he seems to be uncomfortable, you, as his support, must remove him from the situation. Never be afraid of hurting someone’s feelings if you have to do this, it is for the safety of Hershey.”

  She shared some last minute information with us. I was going to need to be registered with Pet Partners, a human services organization that registers and insures human-animal teams. To do this, I would need to take their on-line therapy animal handlers course. Once I completed the test at the end of the course, I would send in my application for registration. This entire process would cost almost $200.00! I was suddenly disappointed, and it must have shown on my face because Jane once again covered my hand with hers.

  “Is something wrong Ellen?” she asked.

  “Well for starters, we don’t have a computer.” I said with tears welling in my eyes. “Is it possible to take this online class at the library?”

  “My husband and I have an extra laptop we aren’t using. It’s an older model, but it works.”

  “But I can’t pay you for it,” I stammered.

  “I’m not worried about that. It was just going to be donated to a church or school, but now I have someone just as deserving to donate it to.”

  I was again moved to tears. How could there be someone this kind in the world?

  “Thank you so much, Jane. I really appreciate it, but I have another problem.”

  I didn’t have any money to pay for the class and the registration fee. I couldn’t ask my mom to come up with that much money for me, and even if I did ask, she couldn’t afford to give it to me. We could barely even buy groceries each week!

  Jane must have sensed this. She did not let me finish, instead she said, “I have a large property that needs a lot of maintenance. It’s difficult for me to find the time to weed all my gardens and the weeds are starting to take over. Do you think I could hire you to do some work around here for the summer?”

  My mouth dropped open in surprise, and Mom let out a gasp.

  “I would like someone to come over for three or four hours a day, twice a week to help me around the yard. I would pay $50.00 a week. AND, you could bring Hershey with you. ”

  I started to cry. I was embarrassed, but could not stop crying. Hershey, who had been contently curled up in my lap, became alarmed and stood to nuzzle into my face and lick away my tears. He always did this when I cried; he hated to see me cry.

  Jane still had her hand on mine, and her soft eyes watched Hershey console me. “I really want the two of you on my team,” she said. “So think about what I asked, and call me when you decide.”

  All I could do was nod “yes”.

  “We’ll
make arrangements for my husband and I to drop the laptop off at your house and get it all set up for you once you call me.”

  Chapter Seven

  I was laying on my bed staring at the ceiling, trying to digest everything Jane had said to me. Hershey was curled up on my stomach snoozing. I looked down my body to watch him rise and fall with each breath I took.

  Jane did not know just how much she’d affected me. Her generosity captivated me. Not only did she offer me a computer and a summer job, she offered me the chance to be someone special. Things like this never happened to me.

  I reached across my body to stroke Hershey. He didn’t open his eyes, but he rolled over onto his back so I could rub his tummy; he didn’t need to see me to know my touch.

  “What do you think, Hershey? What should Mama do?” I quietly asked him.

  My mom gently rapped on my door and opened it a crack, causing Hershey to wake up and roll back onto his stomach. “May I come in?”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  She walked over and sat on the edge of my bed and gave Hershey a gentle rub on the chin. He lifted his head high to give her better access.

  “I just spoke with Mrs. Spenser,” she said. Mrs. Spenser lived next door to us. She was a nice older lady who worked at Wal-Mart with my mom. She actually helped my mom get the job.

  “She is willing to give you access to her WIFI so you can use the internet.” Apparently I took too long to respond because she went on, “Oh come on, Ellen! Don’t tell me you’re going to insult Jane by not accepting her charity! Sometimes people help other people simply out of the kindness of their hearts. Not everybody has an ulterior motive.”

  “I know that!” I shouted. Our raised voices startled Hershey and forced him to jump off me and dart out of the room. I stood up and watched him leave, then paced back and forth running my hands through my hair. “I just don’t want to….” I started to say something, and then realized I was revealing too much.

  “You don’t want to what? Put forth all the effort?” Mom countered me, standing to face me.