There is something about animals that truly heal us in times of emotional need. They don’t judge us, they only know to love us. And now his life had been tragically cut short. At eight years old Monty was still in the prime of his life. An excellent hunter of rodents, he killed very few birds and was taught to leave frogs and lizards alone.
I collected Monty (our seal point Siamese) that afternoon. He was carefully wrapped in a white cotton sheet. I burst into tears. It was true. He did die from a snake bite. After I settled the account I sadly carried Monty to the car and drove home.
That evening Emily, (my youngest daughter), walked solemnly in, heartbroken, eyes red from tears, followed by Michael, her partner of 12 months. They drove an hour after work to come for Monty’s burial. Monty had been Emily's companion through her turbulent teens for about four years, sleeping in her, or should I say their bed! They were inseparable.
We went outside where I had put the body by the back door. We decided to bury Monty in our rose garden, close to where I had buried our other Siamese only 8 months ago. His life had also been cut short.
Michael was caressing Emma in an effort to soothe. At times like these the mother in me was watching him keenly. How is he being supportive to my daughter? Did he pass this test? Well, I can happily say he passed brilliantly. He was sympathetic, kind and tried to comfort Emily as much as possible..
After the burial we sat outside and ate our meal, in silence. Then they left.
Over the next few weeks David and I had to get used to Monty’s absence. His huge personality left its mark everywhere; where he slept in the garage or in the stables, on the swinging chair under the patio or making demands in the kitchen. His nocturnal catches were brought triumphantly inside. “Look at my trophy!” The latest was a large dead rat. He even knew to kill the rat before he brought it inside, a previous lesson learnt from bringing in a live one!
About a week or so later Emily & Mike came over for lunch. After lunch I watched Emily carefully place a white rose on Monty’s grave. Gone but not forgotten.
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