THE RETURN OF SADIE…and who knows…maybe some sleep!

First off, we want to thank EVERYONE for their heartfelt comments and prayers.  Each one meant so much and we were very touched.  Anyway, here’s the story of how we JUST got Sadie back…(she just finished eating and is now running amok!!)…Oh, and note the pink coloe for the princess that Sadie is!

Yesterday afternoon I (Scott) began handing out fliers.  I met a couple of kids from the block and they directed me to a street two LONG blocks away. There I found some more kids (three girls around 8, 9, 10…? who can tell anymore?!)  who said that Sadie was definitely in that area and maybe in their building’s basement.  This was after they saw the flier AND told me, without prompting, that the cat in question had a big fluffy tail and walked funny, just like Sadie.  So I told them, after looking and coming up empty, that when they see her again, get her in a room where she can’t get out and call me.  There’s a cash reward involved.  (They then asked if they could get the reward if they gave me a different cat.  So, right there my hopes took quite a hit).

Later that evening, after dinner, I decided to walk back to that area and have another look.  Of course I came up empty as far as Sadie was concerned. But I did see some adorable cats running about. I’d have “rescued” them if they needed/wanted it, but my focus was elsewhere at the time. Perhaps I’ll get back there soon.   Anyhoo, it began to rain, so that was my cue to head back because even if Sadie was there, she wasn’t about to go running around in a downpour. Well, I got to my door and was stopped dead in my tracks by a LOUD, PLAINTIFF meow.  “HOLY Cow! Is that….??”  I stuck my head in the window of my apartment and said “AMY…..get out here!”  She huffed and puffed a bit…this has all been so stressful…  but realized there was something to my urgency.  We traced the meow, which Amy INSTANTLY realized was our little lost fuzzball, to the basement of the apartment building RIGHT NEXT DOOR!  Sadie went in through an open window but, apparently, the leap from floor to sill was too much for her.  Of course I saw at least three other cats go in and out, but I guess not Sadie.  She’s little and her back legs are slightly deformed so she might not be able to jump as high as other cats.  I tried shaking bags of food, I put two planks in there to serve as ramps, each longer than the prior, but she was not going to leave unless it was through the door.  I learned from another neighbor who does construction and was so kind in providing the wood for one of the planks that the house had recently been VACATED by the tenants.  So, the good news was we knew where Sadie was, safe and dry and now plied with food – I dropped I don’t know how many Meow Mix cups down there, dry food, etc!!!  What a mess!

Suffice to say it was a sleepless night as Amy and I tried to figure out how we’d find the owner…what we’d do if we didn’t…a Hammer to the door knob?  Did I really want to do a “B&E” for this?  Well, morning came (a few hours ago, but it was an eternity from late last night to this moment!) and Amy got on the internet and harnessed all her search powers and she tracked down not only the name of the owner, but his place of business.  I, in turn, began calling the number every 10 seconds or so!  Finally, to my amazement, someone answered!!  And just like that the owner was on his way, sympathetic to Sadie’s plight or worried what she might be doing to his basement, I couldn’t say!  When he arrived, parking his van in the street, I stood there trying to contain myself with my plastic bags, little broom, paper towels and a bottle of 409.  He got out of the van and instead of going to the basement door, he opened the gates of the driveway then got back in the van and backed it in.  I thought I might faint. What kind of cruel torture was this?  Finally he got to the stairs, began fumbling through his keys, dropped a few (“Let me get them for you..” “No, no, that’s ok”  “MMMGGRRHHHHAAHHHH YER KILLING ME!” that last part was just in my head) but eventually got the door open.   I walked in behind him and there she was, looking up at me with those big eyes and wailing away with her big mouth.  “Sadie, go out the door!  Go see mommy”  I got a ?? look so I had to gently tap her butt in the direction of the door.  When she saw daylight she realized this was her chance to regain her old life, and I’m happy to say we are reunited, relieved, and dead tired.   The next time one of our cats goes missing, I AM NOT, I repeat, AM NOT walking beyond the four houses immediately next to or across the street from us.  Harumph. 

Again, thank you EVERYBODY for all your support. It means so much to us. As soon as we’ve all (Me, Amy, Sadie, and I guess that’s it..the other cats didn’t really seem to put out) calmed down and got some much needed rest we’ll be back to visiting your blogs and posting more here.

And we have to check on the homeless cats we now know are wandering the streets a few blocks away.

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