Once upon a time, there lived a bunny and a cat…Legolas was a Manx, a beautiful cat with smoky gray fur and white markings. He needed an expensive surgery, and sadly, as too many people do when they get animal companions, they never factored in the cost for any special care. And, like too many people, instead of doing the responsible thing, they simply set him lose to fend for himself. Fortunately, he quickly ended up in our care, where he did get the surgery he needed, and where he became my dad’s cat. You see, Manx cats are very special in many ways, and one thing about them is that they most often will choose their person. And my dad was the lucky one. 

A few years later, when I was volunteering at a local wildlife center, someone dumped a little bunny at the sanctuary’s gate. It was June. A couple of months after Easter. You can imagine where this story is going…the little bunny was an Easter “gift” who soon became a burden and discarded unceremoniously at the wildlife center. I brought her home, and Legolas took an immediate liking to Buffy the Cat Slayer. The two would chase each other in the garden and snuggle together on the couch watching TV – mostly the Animal Planet channel.

Buffy’s time with us was cut short by kidney failure a couple of years later.  But boy was her presence felt in our home. She would put all the cats in their place, and her favorite pastime was to dig tunnels in the garden – which she later would cover back up, only to start over again the next day. She was a beautiful soul who was larger than life.

Legolas went on to grace our lives to the very respectable old age of 21. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully in March 2018. But he left a giant paw print on my dad’s heart.

Linda Brentzel

Polly Barhite

Patty Bradstreet

Maggy Tomova