Fear and sorrow are jagged boulders, bigger than any one of us.

Love is larger than all of us put together.

And when love puts us all together, there’s no limit to what — or who — we can lift.

The news was the crushing kind, and it fell directly on our hearts. Not far from Tabby’s Place, things had gone terribly wrong for forty cats and seven dogs. In a house that was once a rescue, fear and sickness hung heavy in the air.

Ragged friends trembled behind eyes as solemn as plums. Ribs gaped from bellies that should have been plump. Weary legs strained beneath the weight of hopes unheard.

In times like these, it is a waste of our good, strong hands to point fingers. We do not know the million sorrows that lead to a “hoarding situation.” We only know that we were given these arms to lift someone smaller than ourselves.

Someone like Sprite, the Siamese mix who never lost the bubbles in her blue eyes, even as infection rushed through her body.

Someone like Cerebus, spangled with ringworm but starry-eyed under a canopy of kind faces.

Someone like Marigold, the littlest, bright as a sunshower in the eye of a hurricane. She looked straight into our souls,  like one who still believes in a world beyond fear.

Someone like Nemea, a gossamer vision in creamsicle fur, frail and strong in equal measure.

Someone like Hippolyta, feverish but reborn the moment she saw Dr. Pepper. The mere glimpse of her fellow survivor across our Quarantine room gave her the strength to eat, chirping and cheering.

Someone like Fanta, stubborn and Siamese enough to want all the joy yet unseen.

Someone like Hydra, tired but tortoiseshell, with all the incandescence that implies.

Someone like Pibb, whose stripes were etched with sorrow. As the cats’ stories crawled out of the chaos, we learned why Pibb looked so leaden. Her soulmate cat had gone to another organization. There was no good in her world without Goodwin.

Someone like all thirty-seven others, each as weighty as love.

Love placed us in each other’s hands. Tabby’s Place linked arms with other valiant rescues. There would be a place for all forty-seven beautiful worlds. Not one whisker would be lost.

No one person or organization could do this alone. Saving lives is a team lift.

So is life itself, but we forget that part. We shoulder dreams and regrets alone, and we end up with dislocated pride. But if we let them, the cats will carry us.

Even cats who have borne heavy things. Especially cats who have borne heavy things.

Hippolyta carries us back to the place where the face of a friend is food for the soul. Marigold reminds us that resting in the arms of another is strength. And Pibb, dear brokenhearted Pibb, insists we never forget that we need each other.

When hearts and hands come together, loneliness doesn’t stand a chance.

As soon as we learned that Pibb and her kindred spirit were parted, the team took action again. Goodwin came to Tabby’s Place, making him our ten out of ten. Pibb’s hope soared one hundred percent. Today, you can’t tell where one tabby ends and the next begins, as they dream in one another’s arms.

There will be many beginnings in the days to come, and we’ll be honored to share each one with you. This is the story that does not end.

It is bigger than any one of us. It calls upon every one of us.

Thank you for being part of the team lift, Tabby’s Place family.

Tabby’s Place is grateful to be part of such a strong local rescue community. It was an honor to work with Animal Alliance, Animal Control Solutions,  Crown Veterinary Specialists, Outcast Rescue, and Somerset Regional Animal Shelter in this life-saving effort. 

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