by Belinda Jolly

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Mom had always loved animals. Usually I could get away with dragging in a kitten or a puppy every couple of years and she would be easily persuaded to let me keep it. She had the kind of heart that was full of compassion for the little creatures. So as she grew older and all of us kids were pretty much raising families of our own, it wasn't surprising to hear of a new dog that she had gotten from a friend or a stray cat wandering up and looking hungry. They became her babies.

We were living hundreds of miles apart in the summer of 1987. I would give her a call to see how she was and the conversation always went to her babies. She would tell of how they would get jealous of one another or who the new bully was at that moment. She had started breeding dogs and her heart was pride as she described a new litter of puppies. I could hardly wait for Labor Day weekend, when my family would be off to visit her in the mountains of Virginia.

She had been widowed a year earlier and my baby brother, Walt, had moved in with her to keep her company and help around the place which was out in the country. She had an outdoor cat that was not allowed inside the house at all. Her prized possession by that time was a Lovebird named Bambi. Sometimes Bambi was given the run of the house, which meant he had flying privileges. My brother had a love for animals, as well, so the two of them got along quite well.

Mom had told me of how after grocery shopping one day, she opened the back door to a little ball of mice curled up on the throwrug just inside her house. She hurriedly put the groceries in the kitchen and went into the bathroom. There she found a mouse, drowned, in the commode! Mom's assumption was that the mother had been feeling sick, so, knowing that Mom would take care of her babies if anything happened to her, she deposited them on the rug where Mom would find them. As the mama mouse attempted to quench her thirst, she fell into the water and drowned.

Mom felt she had to take care of "the poor little things" and she immediately went into action. She and Walt decided to make them a cozy little bed and they put lids of food and water down for them, right in the kitchen floor.

By the time we arrived, the four little mice were all accustomed to their new mama. Mom was so proud as she told how they wouldn't hurt you or how they loved to climb. As if on cue, the little mice were doing exactly that, as we sat around our table, cautious and half frozen to our seats; afraid we would have

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>