THE MIRACLE OF LIFE is a simple and true story with a happy ending. May you experience as much joy as I did through meeting our little hero.
We found little Oliver Twist on a late Saturday afternoon in October, in a parking lot on our island, where he miraculously managed to stay alive in between the wheels of countless cars driven by impatient parents, visiting the toy store nearby with their children. He was totally underfed and dehydrated, barely balancing himself on his thin legs, his swollen tummy touching the ground, his black hair thin and covered with white spots. He cried out constantly, staring into the distance with his immense green eyes which seemed much too big for his tiny face. He was all alone, hiding behind the colorful bicycles that the store management put on display in front of the shop windows, screaming from the top of his voice to focus attention on his fate of being neglected, abandoned and close to death. When I held him in my hands the very first time, his fragile body was constantly shivering as he went through a fleet of emotions.
The experiences that he had before we found him, were unknown to us, but it was not difficult to imagine the amount of suffering that he went through in his short life.
Arriving home, our many animals all came to greet the new member of the family. Twist's new basket was quickly taken over by all our young cats, with our fluffy white Snowball literally glued to it, diminishing the tiny kitten to a black spot under all his hair. His cry was heard constantly throughout the following week as he grew accustomed to his new surroundings. He dived into every plate of food, sitting inside it even long after it was empty, waiting for the slightest sign of more and finally falling asleep from the exhaustion. It became clear that his name suited him perfectly.
Almost a week later he finally discovered the joy of washing himself as all felines do, carefully watching our other cats, following their every movement. The next day our mischievous Spark and our tender Bubu gave him his first lesson in playfulness, chasing him around in the fields, stalking him and jumping on top of him without warning. Little Twist's joy in experiencing the play of a child was so obvious that it moved all the other felines to join in. Watching them was truly one of the most beautiful scenes that I ever saw in my life.
After two weeks of recovering from severe abandonment, little Twist was walking stable, effortlessly running up the stairs of our house and stalking the rest of our cat family continuously. His hair became shiny, his tiny body balanced and he spirit playful, energetic and happy . He was finally on his way to be totally healthy. Full of confidence, he guarded his food and even stood up against Diego, the fierce and intimidating leader of our semi-ferals, without a trace of fear.
Rescuing a stray animal is a beautiful gift to all of those involved. It reminds us of our privileges, of our blessings, of everything that we take for granted. Seeing the determination of these amazing beings to survive and to persist towards a better future is a valuable lesson in itself, inspiring us to never give up on anything that we regard as important in our lives. And the unlimited, unconditional love which they bestow on us, is the greatest gift of all.
As their caretakers, keeping their lives in our hands, we become their whole world, a title which we only fully deserve if we are able to return their generous love and faithful loyalty in the same way, and even more.
As a conclusion, I am kindly inviting you to watch my video with the song that I wrote and recorded on behalf of Pawfect Nation, a Public Benefit Organisation which was established in 2010 by a team of passionate animatarians in South Africa. Committed to promoting animal rights as being equally important as human rights, they believe that for as long as animals are treatable, they should be treated, rehabilitated, or receive life long special care.
http://youtu.be/TWHC1VmOLqw
(The copyrights to the text are reserved by Louise du Toit.)
