For today’s Pet Escapades meet Brooke Kisker. Brooke and I actually worked very closely together when I was first hired on at HLK. You could say she was one of my first friends here, and it is because of her this blog has such an awesome layout. Since then she has moved on to a different job, where she continues to work in SEO (search engine optimization). When not in the office, Brooke can be found outdoors hanging out with family and friends. Here is her story of how one cat remained her rock through a difficult time:

I know many of you are not cat people and that is completely fine, but I have a story about the most extraordinary cat that ever lived. He was not extraordinary to anyone but me, however I feel his story should be told.

Scooter was adopted from a local Petsmart during an adoption event for my sister and me as a bribe from our parents for us not to notice or complain about the amount of fighting that had been going on between the two of them. He was a mostly white cat with orange markings on his ears and tail and one large spot near his butt. He came home with a ribbon around his neck and I could not have been happier to have a pet in our house once again.

Scooter showed early on that he was not like previous cats we had. He had a warm personality and actually liked to be around people. Although he was supposed to be a pet for both my sister and me, he and I were soon inseparable. I know it has been said by people before and it sounds cheesy every time, but he became my best friend and coping mechanism for dealing with everything going on at home.

Scooter, the most extraordinary cat that ever lived.

About two years after we got Scooter my mom filed for divorce and it turned my whole world upside down. After moving six times in the span of a year and a half you start to get this feeling like you don’t know where you belong and everything you have ever known is gone. Well this is where Scooter’s extraordinary abilities swung into action. No matter where we that night, or what new house we moved into, I knew I could count on him to always be by my side. He had this ability to make everything all right and gave me a reason to push through.

My Junior and Senior years of high school are when everything seemed to settle down from the divorce. Although I had switched schools and was dealing with being the “new girl”, my life though different, seemed to be heading in the right direction. I had gotten accepted to the University Missouri at Columbia and would be starting there in the Fall following graduation. The only problem was that incoming freshmen were required to live on campus, in dorms, where no pets were allowed.

It was hard leaving Scooter behind when I left for school, not just because he wasn’t with me, but because of all the changes that were going on were hard to deal without his extraordinary powers. For such a long time I had relied upon that comforting ability he had that was not around anymore.

I was able to muscle through my freshman year of school and made some great friends and memories along the way. I came home from school that summer and although I had grown up quite a bit, Scooter and I still hung out while I was at home.

I received a phone call from my dad a couple of months into my Sophomore year of college that Scooter was a little sick but they had taken him to the vet and they were watching him for observation. I was a little worried because he was sick but I thought it would be fine because I was already planning on coming home that weekend for the holiday.

When I got home I found out that Scooter’s kidneys were failing and that he was in a tremendous amount of pain. We had two options, and the only one that would give him any kind of relief was to put him to sleep. To this day I still miss that cat. Although he was just an animal, I feel guilty that I was not able to return his extraordinary comforting abilities when he needed them most.

I still have a clay paw imprint of his from the day he was put to sleep. It serves as a constant reminder of the most extraordinary cat that ever lived.

Crazy how animals can sense something is wrong and will stand by your side no matter what. To read more of Brooke’s adventures be sure to check out her blog at brookekisker.com where you can learn more about her career in SEO and how she is enjoying life with her husband, daughter, and soon to be baby Kisker! Well that’s all for today folks, and if you would like to be featured next week, don’t hesitate to send me your story.