Tigger Rodriguez

Tigger Rodriguez

Tigger came to us in October of 1996. He was only 2 weeks old . His mother and siblings were victims of coyotes in the area and he was all alone. This tiny little kitty had a runny nose and eyes that seemed shut all the time. He was very quiet and unlike our other cat Nala, he never meowed. This worried us at first but soon we were accustomed to Tigger's quiet ways. He spoke to our hearts and that was all that mattered

We took him to Dr. Dahlem who informed us that Tigger had a respiratory infection and gave us medicine to take home. Tigger had to be fed with a dropper. We had our doubts about him making it but little by little he improved. His eyes started to open and form some color, his nose stopped running, and he was now eating from a baby bottle instead of a dropper. So began our love affair with Tigger.

I took Tigger everywhere. I would put him in the pocket of my parka to keep him warm and I would always talk to him. The only problem was the funny looks from strangers who thought I was talking to myself. Soon Tigger no longer fit in my pocket nor did he need us to tend to his every need. He grew into our beautiful cat and was fully recovered and healthy. Like Tigger, I too grew up and moved out on my own. Although Tigger was in my heart, he stayed with my Mom at home.

A couple of years later through circumstances I returned to live at home, pets in tow. Now not only did my mom have Tigger and her Yorkie, Belle, living with her but she also had me, Nala, and my two Yorkies, Dawson and DJ. The pitter patter of twenty paws running about warmed my heart, that is until Tigger started to meow.

Tigger who had never made a peep meowed all night. He paced up and down the hall letting out this awful yowl. My heart sunk. We had invaded his home and he wasn't happy. I tried to soothe him, but to no avail. The following day Tigger, ran out as we opened the door. We ran after him but he was too fast and he outran us. We couldn't find him anywhere. We walked the neighborhood for hours. We knocked on doors called his name and put out food but still no Tigger. We finally went home with teary eyes.

During the weeks that followed we put up posters with his name as we canvassed the neighborhood. We spoke to anyone that would listen and put ads in the newspapers. We checked the shelters and reported him missing to the Animal Assistance League. We added him to prayer chains. We asked friends all across the country to pray for his safe return home. As each day passed my worries turned into panic. Thoughts raced through my mind. He's never been outside, he doesn't make any noise, and he doesn't even know how to get home. Soon I fell ill and was hospitalized. Every day one of the volunteers would bring us the newspaper and I would check for our ad and to see if he had been found. After a week I was released and I started walking the neighborhood as soon as the car was parked. I couldn't imagine walking into our home without Tigger.

Days turned into nights, nights into weeks and weeks into months. We still hadn't found Tigger and we continued to pray for his safe return home. After 10 weeks our neighbor handed us a note. It read" Found cat -might be Tigger" and it had a phone number. This Good Samaritan explained that she had seen a sign on a street corner and wrote down the information because she knew Tigger was missing. My heart started to race. Could it be true? I dialed as fast as I could and a lady named Karen answered. I introduced myself and explained why I was calling. She told me about her cat Sassy who had found Tigger. One day Sassy was meowing and refusing to go inside. Sassy meowed until Karen came over and led her to Tigger. Karen remembered our signs and made up the sign that our neighbor had read. We were making arrangements for me to arrive at her house the following morning at feeding time when she announced that he was there right then. We raced over to her house and she led us to her backyard. She informed us he had run away again but encouraged us to call his name and look for him. Then my mom spotted him in the flood drain. We were ecstatic Tigger was found!

He rushed straight to Orange Villa Vet and to Dr. Dahlem who was as happy as we were. The entire staff was smiling and rejoicing with us. Tigger was given fluids and vitamins. He was anemic and malnourished but he was okay. Tigger was found!

Today Tigger is happy to be home and he gets along with our other pets just fine. You can hear the chorus of meows and barks daily from our home but not from Tigger. Not a peep from him. Every day as I pet him I'm reminded of the kindness of one person and his guardian angel Sassy who helped bring Tigger home.