Contributing writer

By Ingrid King*

Ingrid with her cat, Amber. (Photo courtesy of Ingrid King)

Liz, our groomer, was brushing out a scruffy looking mixed breed dog, and we chatted for a while.

“Have you seen the cute little tortie in the back?” Liz asked. (…)

Liz pointed to the bank of cages at the very back of the kennel, and I went to see Buckley for the first time. And I fell in love. Hard. And fast.

She was a small cat, and she immediately came to the front of the cage and rubbed up against the bars. When I unlatched the door to her cage to pet her, she practically threw herself at me — something I came to call “full body love” as I got to know her better and realized that this was one of the many ways she would demonstrate her affection. This little cat loved with her entire being.

It took several minutes of talking to her and petting her before I even noticed her deformed left hind leg. It bent upward at the knee at a ninety degree angle. Our veterinarians were unable to determine whether this was a congenital birth defect or an old injury that had never healed right. It certainly did not seem to bother her, nor did it slow her down. She barely had a limp, and she used the knee of the bent leg to push off when she ran and jumped.

Her “disability” definitely was a non-issue for her — she didn’t know the meaning of the word. After a while, I didn’t notice it anymore, either. It was just part of who she was, and I was always surprised when people asked about it.

This is an excerpt from my book “Buckley’s Story,” a celebration of the soul connection between animals and humans, an eternal bond that transcends the physical dimension.

When I first met Buckley, I could have never imagined how much she would change my life through her joyful and exuberant spirit. She taught me to open my heart, which, among other things, led me to discover my passion for writing.

Buckley also showed me what it’s like to live with a cat with a terminal illness — in her case, heart disease — and to make treatment decisions that took into account her medical needs as well as what she, as a spiritual being, would have wanted. Maintaining a positive outlook in the face of a poor diagnosis can be very challenging, and I often took my lead from Buckley and learned from her how to not get caught up in fear and worry. Animals don’t care about test results, diagnosis and prognosis. They live in the moment.

I will be forever grateful to my little cat for these lessons.

In the book, I also offer my experience of how I coped with losing Buckley and the sometimes devastating grief that followed, in hopes of helping other pet parents. Sadly, our animals don’t live as long as we do.

I have always believed that animals come into our lives to teach us. First and foremost, they teach us about unconditional love. But they also teach us to stretch and grow, to reach beyond our self-imposed limits and to expand our consciousness. They take us to places we did not think were possible to go.

Buckley was one of those animals.

* Ingrid King is a former veterinary hospital manager turned writer. She publishes the e-zine “News for You and Your Pet,” covering topics ranging from conscious living to holistic and alternative health, and runs a blog called The Conscious Cat. She lives in Northern Virginia with her tortoiseshell cat, Amber.

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Buffie is up for adoption at ASPCA. (Photo courtesy of ASPCA)