Amazingly Animal Story - 44

Six years ago, just after midnight, I was lying in bed when I heard the sound of laughter from a group of boys outside. A car pulled up, there was a burst of loud laughter, and then they drove off. Living in the countryside, where it's completely dark at that hour, I didn't think much of it at the time.

The next afternoon, around 3 p.m., I was heading out to feed my horses when I noticed something small dart across the patio. How he had survived the night alone remains nothing short of a miracle.

After searching a bit, I cornered a tiny kitten—frightened, injured, and barely able to move. Those boys had thrown him into my lower pasture, yet somehow, he had managed to make his way up to the house. The tip of his tail had been burned and eventually fell off, his nose was scratched, and his little body was badly hurt. His front leg was bent and dragging, while his back leg gave out beneath him whenever he tried to walk.

At the vet, we learned he was just 4 ½ weeks old. We tried to save his front leg, but the damage was too severe. When he was neutered, we made the difficult decision to have the leg removed entirely, up to the shoulder.

I had recently lost a beloved horse, and my friends told me that this kitten had come into my life for a reason. Wanting to give him a name with meaning, I looked up the phrase “gift from God”—and that’s how he became Zaine.

I call him Sweet Baby Zaine, and he truly is wonderful.