Pete the Cat (NEAT)

I hope you all like this, I had to share it with you.  (just in case you don't have time to read all this stuff like I do all day)

AFTER 10,000 YEARS
by Niki Behrikis Shanahan

      Our family didn't have any pets when I was growing up, so I
didn't give much thought to having a companion animal.  I suppose if
you never had it, you don't know what you're missing.
      My husband, Jack, always had cats in his family growing up.
When Jack and I were first married, we lived on the second floor of a
condominium.  Little did we know who was living on the first floor --
it was Pete!
      One day we heard a cat meowing in the hallway outside our door.
Jack dashed to the door and let the cat in.  It really didn't matter
much to me if he let him in or not.  Pete kept visiting us, each time
meowing outside the door for admittance.
      One day, I was writing at the kitchen table when Pete came in.
He got up on the chair beside me, and I looked into the most
beautiful green eyes I had ever seen!  On other occasions he would
walk around, and rub up against my legs as I did the dishes at the
sink.  Little by little, this short fluffy bundle of love stole my
heart!
      Then it happened.  I started looking for him -- I was hooked!
We started feeding Pete on a regular basis and he would stay for long
periods of time.  One night he didn't leave, sleeping on a rocking
chair in the living room all night.
      Finally, I discovered that he belonged to Judy on the first
floor.  I explained to her Pete has been stopping by to visit and
that he had stayed overnight a couple of times.  She told me if Pete
bothered us, just to throw him out!
      Judy said that she was getting married in a couple of months and
she didn't know what she was going to do with Pete, because her
fiance had a dog that couldn't tolerate other animals.
      That was the day that I decided I would definitely adopt him.
      Jack was going to night school and was busy with that most of
his spare time, so Pete and I kept each other company.  Pete would
get up with us in the morning and have breakfast -- he was always
veryvocal about being fed promptly!  He would sleep on our bed,
usually laying on my legs all night, sit on my lap in the evening,
nap in my arms, and play toy and flashlight games with Jack.  He'd
let you put a little rubber duck on his head and allow us to be
amused by it.  He was a good sport.
      He was very cooperative the year I put a Santa hat on his head
and asked him to pose for our Christmas cards.  He loved to sit under
the Christmas tree.  When I would bring the tree into the house and
lay it against the wall before setting it up, Pete would sit under
it, ready to start celebrating right away.  He loved to open the toys
at Christmas, and exchange gifts and cards with his Grandma and
Auntie every year.
      Fourteen wonderful years passed.  It was a couple of weeks
before Pete passed away that he was sitting on the bay window in the
dining room.  I went over to see him, and there I saw a beautiful
pure white cat outside directly in front of the window where he sat.
The white cat was staring up at Pete.
      I called Jack to come over to see this white cat who seemed to
be in a trance as she gazed up at Pete.  Jack came over to take a
look and within a couple of minutes she vanished from sight.  I
immediately ran outside to leave her some food in case she came back,
but all the while I had an uneasy feeling inside me that this was no
ordinary cat.  We never saw this white cat before, and we've never
seen her since.
      I couldn't get it out of my mind that the beautiful feline was
an angel, ready to take Pete to heaven.  I asked Jack if we could
pray for Pete a little later that night and we did.  Within a couple
of weeks Pete did pass away from a heart attack.
      Pete lived to be close to 22 years old, which is a long time for
a cat, but not enough when you love someone.  He enjoyed a very
loving life with us, and was really only sick the last year of his
life.  Even though it pains us deeply that he is gone, we know he's
with the Lord in heaven waiting for us to join him someday.
      The great bond between Pete and I inspired me to research the
Bible to see what God had to say about the afterlife of animals.  I
found many scriptures in myresearch and I felt the need to document
it in an organized way.  Once I began to type everything in a file, I
said to Jack, "I think this is a book!"  I was delighted with my
findings that proved scripturally that all the animals go to heaven.
I titled the book, There Is Eternal Life For Animals.
      On December 15, 2002, it was exactly one year since Pete passed
away.  I was feeling very depressed, and just moping around the
house.  I looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing.
Later I looked out the back window at the place where Pete was
buried, right under the big rock.
      I had to look twice because there was a snow shaped cross on the
big rock right over Pete's grave!  Why isn't there any snow on the
rest of the rock?  There's snow everywhere else, on the trees, on the
grass, everywhere.  But on the rock it was only in the shape of a
cross.  After the snow was gone I went to see what the rock looked
like, and I noticed that there was a branch which formed the vertical
part of the cross, horizontally it looks like an indent in the rock.
We have photos of the rock fully covered with snow, and others with
the snow melting, and we have a photo of the rock with the Cross of
Snow.  I know it's a sign from God that Pete is alive and well in
heaven!  I believe that God wants us to share this story with all
those who are feeling the pain at the loss of their animal
companions.  It's true that God preserves people and animals as is
stated in Psalm 36:6.
      I often wonder what it's like in heaven, and what everybody is
doing.  Sometimes I imagine Pete's playing with the other animals,
perhaps riding on a big elephant!  I'm sure he's spending time with
my Dad, who passed away 40 days before him.  He and his Uncle Johnny,
my brother who passed away at only three years old, are no doubt
enjoying each other's company.
      Whenever I feel sad about my boy being gone, I stop and think.
I'm going home to Pete someday and we're going to live forever in
heaven!  Then after 10,000 years go by, I'm going to turn to Pete and
say, "Well son, what do you want to do today?"

            -- Niki Behrikis Shanahan   <eternalanimals @ comcast.net>

____________________________________________
Niki is from Massachusetts.  Her book, There Is Eternal Life For
Animals, has been reviewed 43 times by readers at Amazon.com and has
received the highest 5 star rating.