Lessons From Leo

Last year, right before Christmas, my wife and youngest daughter Kaitlynn came home one evening with a “surprise early Christmas gift” for me.

A kitten!

Apparently, they’d stopped by one of our local pet stores, and after seeing this particular cat, decided to buy it, bring it home, and present it to me, under the guise of being a gift.

Now, I have to be honest here, I wasn’t jumping for joy about the thought of another pet joining our household.

Truth is, I was a little miffed by the fact that Lisa and Kaitlynn had brought this cat home, without even talking with me about it in advance.

Had they done so, I could have headed them off at the pass, and prevented the entire event.

And I wasn’t buying the whole “This is a Christmas gift for you bit” either.

I mean really…

Let's At Least Be Honest Here...
This cat wasn’t a gift for me.

It was a gift for them.

And my initial reaction to this ordeal wasn’t a very good one.

I told the girls, “The cat has to go back where it came from. I don’t want another pet in our home”.

As soon as I said this, Kaitlynn’s eyes filled with tears.

And me, being the macho tough guy that I am, ended up caving to the pressure.

The girls had me beat, and we kept the cat, who quickly became known as Leo.

As time went on, our entire family fell in love with this cat, myself included.

Leo was unlike any other cat I’ve ever seen.

He was bubbling with personality and loved to get attention.

He Quickly Became A HUGE Part Of Our Family
Then…

Last Wednesday night, a terrible thing happened.

Lisa, Kaitlynn and I had stopped by the grocery store. I was waiting outside in the car for them, when I get a call on my cell phone from our oldest son Jerry, telling me that Leo had been run over by a car.

My heart immediately sank.

You see, Leo was one of these cats that just loved to go outside and carouse the neighborhood.

Sometimes he’d be out for the entire day.

But, sooner or later, he’d always return home for food, shelter, rest and the attention that he could never get enough of.

We tried to keep Leo corralled in the house, but he was one heck of an opportunist. If he ever saw anyone heading for a door, he immediately went to work, planning his escape.

Sometimes we’d be able to put an end to his escape by cutting him off at the pass, but most of the time, he’d succeed with his carefully laid out plans.

We’d always been concerned with the possibility of him getting run over, especially since there’s a busy street near our home.

As I spoke with Jerry on the phone, I seriously debated having Jerry take the cat to the vet to be put to sleep, without telling the girls what had happened.

I’d prefer to let them think that Leo had simply went away and found another home, rather than letting them know what had happened.

But as Lisa and Kaitlynn came out of the store, they saw the “look” on my face.

As soon as Lisa got in the car, she immediately asked, “what’s wrong with you”?

At that moment, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to hide the truth from them.

I said, “Leo’s been hit by a car”.

And just like I knew would happen, both of the girls burst into tears.

As we raced home, Lisa called Jerry back, and could barely speak, as she tried to find out what had happened.

After getting home, Lisa and Kaitlynn couldn’t bear to see Leo in the state he was in. They stayed outside as I went in the house so I could find out if we we’d be able to save our beloved pet.

As I walked through the door, Jerry and his girlfriend Alicia were tending to Leo on the kitchen floor.

As soon as he saw me, he immediately began meowing. And though his back end was completely crushed, he attempted to crawl toward me, dragging his rear end as he went.

I Can Only Imagine The Pain He Was In
But, in spite of this, he didn’t show it. All he wanted was our attention.

Since it was late in the evening, My oldest daughter Michaela and I took Leo to the emergency veterinary clinic.

After doing x-rays, the vet showed us that Leo’s spine and rear hips had been completely shattered.

And though there was a small possibility that an operation, followed by weeks of recovery, could repair the damage done, there was no guarantee of the outcome.

And…

We still didn’t know the extent of Leo’s internal injuries.

The vet was extremely blunt with us, telling us that even when everything was said and done, our Leo probably wouldn’t be left with an acceptable standard of life.

After hearing this, Michaela and I decided that it was best to have Leo put to sleep.

We called home to let the rest of the family know what was going on, and they agreed with our decision.

Michaela and I spent what seemed like an eternity, saying our last good-bye’s to Leo, and after much crying, we left the clinic to return home, without our friend.

As you can imagine, as I write this, and recount these events, I’m sitting here at my computer keyboard, once again in tears.

But as I think about Leo, and the incredible sense of loss I feel at this moment, I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this experience, as painful as it was.

You see…

I used to be one of these guys who thought people were crazy to spend thousands of dollars on their family pet after an accident.

Whenever I heard stories like this, I’d always thing to myself, “Why would anyone do that? If it were me, I’d just have the animal put to sleep and get a new pet, rather than spend all that money”.

But…

When it came right down to it, and I was plummeted into this situation, I found myself singing a VERY different tune.

As we were taking Leo to the vet, I told Michaela that I’d do ANYTHING that was required in order help our cat recover.

At That Moment... Price Didn't Matter
If the vet had told me, “I can guarantee that Leo will recover and be the same cat you’ve always known, but it’s going to cost $8,000.00”, I would’ve written the check.

At that moment, as Michaela and I drove Leo to the vet, I broke down in tears. I discovered that I really did have a heart.

Who would’ve ever thought that a cat could have such a profound, life-changing affect on our lives.

We love and miss you Leo.

Kevin Thompson