I pay attention to the Clinton County scanner when it pops up on my iPad’s screen. You learn a lot by reading the scanner on Facebook. Initially, I thought it was a good place to check out the weather, for thunderstorms or tornados “popping up” as Eric Maitland describes them. The scanner could be a great tool in case we needed to “seek shelter NOW!”
Seriously, though, the scanner site is mostly devoted to stray cats and dogs. So many dogs get loose from their owners. Cats, too, and it seems like they come home with kittens after their time on the loose. So cute. I kind of assume the kids are home for the summer and in charge of the pets, hence, some slip-ups. I imagine the dogs and cats eventually find their owners or vice-versa.
I heard a funny story a couple weeks ago, worth sharing for a chuckle. A couple we know in Iowa City had lost their cat. It got out, and, in a streak, was gone. Distraught, husband and wife searched and searched the neighborhood. They called its name; they carried treats, shouting, “Here kitty kitty.” Not a trace. Their beloved cat was AWOL.
As they were heading home, broken-hearted, sure their pet was gone for good, they walked by an abandoned house. Empty. No one living there. Kind of dilapidated. The screen door was ajar. What should they see in the picture window of the abandoned house, looking at them like this was just any ordinary day, THEIR CAT. Their beloved cat, now a naughty cat, in the picture window of an abandoned house.
I ask my readers, “What would YOU do?” But, I imagine what you really want to know is what THEY did? Here’s the rest of the story…
Like good citizens, worried about retrieving a beloved pet, they called the police asking for their help in getting the cat from the abandoned house. They waited and waited. And waited some more for the police to show up. Obviously, a cat that was “sort of” found was not high priority for the PD. So, the cat sat there while my friends stood there.
It could be called breaking and entering…but hey, it was their cat, so since the screen door was open and the cat snuck in that way, they went into the old house and grabbed the blankety-blank cat. As luck would have it the police called and said they were on their way. So what did my friends do?
Speaking sweetly into the phone, my friend said, “Oh, good news, officer, our cat came out of the house. We’re taking him home now. Thank you, but we won’t be needing your help after all!”
Is there a moral to this story? I doubt it. I’d still like to know what you would have done if your cat was in an old house in the neighborhood, looking out at you with a Cheshire grin.
