Some months ago we rescued a kitten that was discarded with the rest of her litter in a cat carrier in a ditch behind a Walmart. We decided to foster her. She was too young to have been taken from her mother and underweight.

The kitten’s name is Savvy and she’s become a therapy animal for all of us. She’s been interacting with Jessica’s cats and has Murdoch, the male, plays with her like she would do the rough and tumble games that he hasn’t been with any of the other animals.

Jessica’s female cat Thea has trouble coming out of her bedroom. Savvy draws my support dog Bailey’s attention away from looking at Thea. Bailey is a cattle dog (a Kelpie) and firmly believes that since Thea runs away that she must be lost, so she tries to stir her to where she thinks Thea needs to be at. Where might be? No one knows. The result is that she gets corralled and runs straight back into the bedroom.

Savvy and Bailey have a really special relationship. They play like their both dogs. When Bailey chases a ball, Savvy races her to it. Then kitten approaches Bailey from the front and jumps on her face, grabbing her by her forehead, ears, and snout. Bailey ignores her like a mother would until Savvy gets too rough, then she flips the kitten off her face and onto the floor. Then Bailey pushes her around, flipping, pushing, and rolling on her. (Yeah, I don’t get that either.)

The result? My therapy dog gets support from a kitten that we rescued.

And me, I watch all the silliness around me and feel, well, warm and fuzzy all over.

When the day is over Bailey sleeps on my bed. She’s helped me through long, lonely nights. Being depressed and alone at night is hard. Savvy sleeps curled up right against Bailey like she thinks Bailey is her mother. You know even when they take a nap during the day they sleep together.

It’s so sweet. I love it.

Bailey is restless at night. She’s taken to sleeping on the hardwood floor for part of the night. I’ve been worried that the kitten would leave me since her mommy doggie left, but she hasn’t.

Right now Savvy is curled up between my knees and I feel the way I always do when the kitten walks up my body, curls up on my chest, and passes out. It makes me remember what it was like to hold one of my babies. It’s nowhere the same, but it reminds me of the quiet love and joy that I’m capable of feeling.

Me, myself, and I… I am capable of feeling love and joy. Sometimes this can be so hard to remember.

Sometimes I feel so dark… but these animals, especially Bailey and Savvy, have helped me stay on the happy side, except for the couple of times I’ve lost my cookies and freaked out, partially losing control of my temper and danced with rage.

Rage. Oh hell no!

Where are my therapy animals? I need them! Where are my loving puppy and pussy kitty?