JouJou by Frances Roberts

My beloved cat JouJou left this world some fifteen years ago. I can still clearly remember the day we met. I answered an advertisement of a farmer from Creighton who brought day old chicks to Durban. I met her at the Hypermarket and climbed into the back seat of her yellow Volkswagen Beetle. A little bundle of fur crept out from under the front seat. I knew instantly that we were destined to be together. A pretty bluepoint Siamese, I named him JouJou. From the very beginning he was a special companion. He kept me grounded. Seriously. At the drop of a hat I would be off for the weekend or even longer. Now I had to think of JouJou. But on the bright side of course, I now had someone to come home to.

He was a delicate creature. In his early years he had health problems and we both developed a long and expensive relationship with the vet. Until, hooray! A certain pet food company came to the rescue. I know the special food for kidneys, teeth and general health not only saved my bank balance from slowly disappearing; it also extended JouJou’s life to a considerable degree. I loved him probably more than any human being and his loss was a pain beyond words.

Goldie by Nichola Rhys

Goldie realised that there was something different about her even while she was still suckling from her Golden Retriever mummy’s teats. She knew that she was meant for something different from the brothers and sisters suckling alongside her. She knew that she was meant for something special, even while she was still too little to be given a name by a human. She had barely started drinking and eating from grown-up bowls when a beautiful girl human with bouncy curly head fur the same lovely colour as her mum’s, bent over the basket in which she lay snuggled up with her siblings. That head fur, the same colour as her own too, set up an immediate connection. She sniffed the human’s hands, then felt herself lifted up close as the human touched her human nose against her own damp puppy nose. She sniffed the face human’s face and neck too. Mmm, she smelled good, in a human sort of way. The little pink puppy tongue came out and licked the human’s face. Mmm, that tasted good, too.

She knew enough human language by now to understand that this human’s name was Megan and that she was looking for a dog for her brother Geoff. Then there were some other words that she didn’t understand. Disabled. Lonely. Depressed. She hadn’t heard those words before but something about the sound of them made her little puppy heart ache. Nuzzling against the girl human’s neck, she hoped the human’s brother looked and smelled and tasted and felt as nice as this one did. If he did, then she knew that she could make his achy feelings go away; she knew that she could make him happy.

 

Missy by Presh Cele

I looked forward to walking you to the gate every morning although I hated to see you go. However, I knew that I would see you again after school. Do you know how much my legs pained from jumping up and down after school when you came home? All that excitment I couldn't contain.
But I wouldn't trade that pain for anything in this world.

One day you just left Presh, and you never came back. You didn't say goodbye!

I waited by the gate for weeks! Weeks turned into months, months turned years.

Do you still think about me?

Do you still remember me?
I miss you
Missy (your short legged Jack Russell)

Healing Touch

 She looked over the fence and watched the cows in the field. The one closest to her was black and had a spotted calf suckling while the mother chewed on the cud. As the mother stood ruminating she looked at Micha with her soft brown eyes framed with long eyelashes

Micha was afraid to break the contact as she was sure that the animal was trying to make contact with Micha’s eyes and seemed to delve deep into Micha’s soul. It felt as if it was trying to help her solve her problems. In a strange way the suckling calf brought a sense of closure.

Micha had been distraught since the miscarriage and wondered why an animal could bring such peace whereas all the people around her had not been able to. She felt that no one could relate. None of her friends had been through the same thing. She had almost felt inadequate in some way and yet here this babe was somehow getting through to her. Somehow it was giving her hope. As this thought started to take hold the calf trotted to the fence and nudged her hand. As she stroked the calf’s muzzle peace such as she had never felt before took hold and hope entered her being.