Todd’s Take: Lost Cat Restores My Faith In Humanity

As I returned to my home the other day from picking up my son from baseball practice, I noticed a piece of paper had been attached to the front door of my house. This isn't a terribly uncommon occurrence as we get our fair share of soliciting in my neighborhood. Sometimes it's kids looking to mow the lawn, more often it is an invite to a local church. No matter, I usually approach these postings with the notion that somebody else is saying to me, "Here! YOU throw this away!"

The letter that was affixed above my threshold this time, though, gave me pause and, in a small way, restored my faith in humanity.

The handwritten note (see above) read:
"Hello my name is ______
I live down the street at XXX  My cat went missing two weeks ago and I found him and he ran away and wint [sic] under you [sic] deck  I hope you don't mind me using [sic] your cooler to trap him under there.  So I could keep him in one area.  I did not want to just stay in your back yard and trespass
I traped [sic] him so I could maybe get him later.
Thanks"

Of course my wife and I were extremely sympathetic. Anyone who has ever lost a pet knows how traumatic that can be. What impressed me most was that this young man had enough sense to recognize that he was trespassing and had enough respect for our property despite the fact that his cat -- named "Pooh," as we later found out -- was just a few feet away from being returned safely to his rightful home.

Needless to say, we called back and spent a couple of hours trying to get the kitty out from under the deck with no luck. The young man asked if he could return the next day when it was daylight once again. We told him that it wouldn't be a problem and he didn't need to ask for permission again until he got Pooh to come out. (OK, THAT came out wrong ...)

In the end, the boy got his cat back, we met a neighbor we might not otherwise and my faith in the goodness and the level of respect that a younger generation has was kicked up a few notches.