Made the Call

For about a week, my dog Rufus and my roommate's dog, Charlie, had been running out into a nearby field and rolling around in something putrid. I didn't know what it was at first. Then one day I decided to walk across the field instead of around it and Charlie ran immediately over to whatever it was and began rolling.

I walked over and found the mostly decayed body of a cat.

I didn't think anything of it since cats die all the time, especially in an area where coyotes have been known to traverse and fox have been known to hunt. It happens. And then a few days later I saw the sign posted on a lamp post a couple of blocks away.

I didn't know exactly what to do at this point, whether to call and be the bearer of bad news or leave it be and let the person(s) live in blissful ignorance. However, since I don't like not knowing things, myself, I decided to call.

I called the first number on the flyer and left a message for Amber telling her I found a dead cat, but I wasn't entirely sure it was hers, so not to worry yet. She asked me about the body I found and I told her about where it was and let her know there had been coyote warning signs posted in the area for a week or more. That's when she admitted her other cat had been killed by a coyote. She also admitted that she put food outside for the cat every day but nothing seems to have been eating it for about two weeks.

Wait minute! She had two cats, neither chipped or collared, who were allowed to roam the neighborhood? What did she think was going to happen to them?

I made arrangements with Amber to meet with her after she got off work and show her where the dead cat was so she could identify it as hers, or not. We did and according to her, it was her cat.

I hate giving people bad news, especially when it was preventable with some simple responsibility.