Duke’s Story
I'd like to tell the story of Duke, because it's also a story of healing, and it started a whole new story too.
My youngest (age 11 at around this time last year) had been asking for a kitten but seeing as we already had a cat, albeit a not-cuddly one, I had not been in a rush. But with the pandemic and all of the dreariness it brought, we needed to inject some joy into our home. I called local rescues and shelters but the waitlist for a kitten was outrageous.
I mentioned this to a colleague and soon I was in touch with Eloise, who ran a cat shelter in rural Pennsylvania. She was overrun with kittens — mostly rural strays — and in her area of the world, "people would rather shoot a cat than give it a home."
This was so strange to me because in Massachusetts there seemed to be a shortage of kittens. I personally knew of at least three others who had been looking for months or even years. I told Eloise I thought I could find homes for at least six of the kittens, if she wanted me to try.
This sparked a series of conversations and an eventual plan: if I could find homes in Massachusetts — good vetted adopters that could pass an interview and application with Eloise’s shelter — then Eloise would drive the cats from Pennsylvania to my place, where they could be distributed.
Challenge accepted! I posted to my Facebook page and almost immediately I had a list of names. Eloise ended up bringing all of the kittens, 12 kitty cats from two litters.
That’s how we ended up with Duke!
The other 11 cats went to loving families, friends of friends. During the event, Eloise mentioned that there were at least 20 more kittens that would be ready to adopt the following month, and would I be interested in doing this whole thing again?
I thought about it, then agreed. We found adopters for those 20 kittens, so we did another event, and another, and another. We got better at planning and executing, transporting all those kitties! We even homed some older cats, overgrown kittens from before.
Last week, Duke turned one, and to date the tally of cats we have homed in Massachusetts is 98.
What does all of this have to do with Healing Work? I’ll tell you.
When I started this journey, I was just looking for a kitten, but by being open and listening heartfully, I saw that a greater tale could be told.
Duke has been such a gift in our home. We follow him around the house and we squeal whenever he does anything.
My kids have positively lit up. Duke has befriended our dog, Lua, who needed a companion. Duke is the one you see lounging on the couch when you come for a session in my home, though he’s a lot bigger now:
At regular intervals, I receive messages with pictures of pampered cats canoodling with kids and toys, bringing and receiving joy.
I like to think about each kitten adoption as a little ripple of goodness — for both kittens and owners — that have started who-knows-how-many other ripples?
That is how Healing Work operates also. We come to the healing world because something isn’t right, we are looking for some kind of relief, we have just one goal in mind. But once we start to heal, once we have a little room to breathe, then space emerges for a greater story, expansion that goes in directions we could not have planned. Duke’s tale is part of my own quirky story — I wonder what yours looks like?
