Last Tuesday I (Laura) got home around 4 and spent some time with Roton before I walked down to the barn for Bible study. He followed me outside, but didn't accompany me all the way to the barn. When I got home I called his name and waited a few minutes, but he didn't show up so I shut the door and went to bed. That was Tuesday night.
Wednesday morning Meghan and I got up early and hit the road, eager to get some studying in before our 10 o'clock qual-prep session. Meghan and I will be taking the qual Sept. 20th and 21st, so these days we spend most of our time studying. When we got home I called for Roton but he didn't show up. I started to get worried, and thus decided to wake up early the next morning and do a thorough search. That was Wednesday.
At 6:30AM on Thursday I took the trash down to the barn, then walked all around the Harjitshire peninsula, calling Roton's name. No sign. By this time I was officially worried. Meghan and I left for work, Meghan vowing to make an even more thorough search of the neighborhood with me when we got home. Unfortunately, we got home around 7:30, and had to make our search by headlamp. I was exhausted and stressed, and Meghan was exhausted and stressed and hungry, so we were a great team. I knocked on the door of the house across the street. A bunch of people appeared to be gathering for a meal.
L: Knock, knock, knock!
Guy who opens door: *Confused stare*
L: "Hi! We're your neighbors, we live in the dome. I'm Laura." *sticks out hand*
G: "Chili" *looking confused, shakes hands with Laura*
M: "Meghan" *shakes hands with Chili"
L: "We're missing our cat. He's small with grey stripes."
G: "Uh, I haven't seen him, but I'll let everyone who lives here know about him."
L: "Thanks."
G: "Um, where do you guys live again?"
L: "Across the street, in The Dome on the Right."
G: *still looking confused* "Uh, right. Ok. Goodnight!"
As we're walking away, Meghan says "You know, I don't think he even lives there." Bummer.
The next stop was the Rakhra house. They were also eating, but welcomed us in when they heard that we were searching for a missing Roton. The whole family offered their condolences and even volunteered to help us search. Both of Harjit's daughters talked about how much they loved our kitten. They hadn't seen him since Tuesday night.
After Harjit's house we walked to the barn. No one was home, and there was no sign of Roton. Not willing to give up yet, I switched on my headlamp and dragged Meghan toward the dimly-lit neighborhood on the other side of Route 5. We called for Roton and knocked on a few doors, but found nothing. Just as we were about to turn around, a van drove up behind us and pulled into a driveway on our left. Three girls and a mom piled out, and we stopped them on their way inside.
L: "Hi, we're missing a grey kitten. Any chance you've seen a grey striped kitten?"
Mom: "Oh, no! No, I don't think we've seen one. I'm so sorry! We'll keep an eye out for him. Where do you guys live?"
L: "We live in the domes across the street."
Mom: "The domes..."
Daughters: "The OTHER dome!"
Mom: "Oh! Of course! The other dome! We know Erin." (Erin is our neighbor in The Dome on the Left)
L: "Oh, yeah, cool."
Mom: "So, I guess you've looked all over for your cat? Have you looked up that big hill on the other side of Route 132? You should look up there. There's a pit and a barn with a lot of cats in it. It'd be a good place for a cat to hide. Especially since there are coyotes up there."
L: *surge of adrenaline* "Ok, thanks, we'll do that." *turns to rescue her kitten from coyote peril*
Mom: "But I wouldn't go there at night. The man up there is kind of crazy."
Daughters: "He'll shoot you!"
That was Thursday.
I came home early from work on Friday. I was so worried about Roton that I knew studying would be hopeless, so right after our 10 o'clock qual-prep session I drove home and changed into jeans and boots. Christi-Lynn of the barn agreed to head up the hill with me, putting her life on the line (she confessed that curiosity, as well as love of Roton, was calling her hill-ward). We crossed 132 and cautiously stepped onto the gravel road that disappeared over the top of the hill. There was a barn at street level, so we decided to check that out first. There were a number of deserted cars parked around the barn, and a half-dozen more cars were parked inside it. After shouting Roton's name a number of times, C-L declared that the barn was not a place where she would want to stay if she were a cat, so we decided to press on. As we retraced our steps toward the hill, we watched a large dump truck come barreling down the hill, and another ascend shortly after that.
C-L: "What in the world do they do here!?"
L: "No clue. The woman last night said something about a pit. They must be mining something. Do you think it's legal? And do you think they'll mind us being here if it's not?"
C-L: "Don't worry, they can't shoot us for trespassing in broad daylight."
L: "They can't?"
As we crested the hill two crude buildings and countless construction vehicles came into view. It was a 4-yr-old boy's dream. Careful stay our of the way of the yellow tractors and red dump trucks, C-L and I looked around. Across the road we saw a big sign. "All personnel must report to the office before entering mine." Aight, sounds like a plan. Where's the office?
C-L and I walked toward the building nearest to us. Suddenly, a HUGE rottweiler jumped up and lunged toward us, barking madly. The front door of the building opened and a man stepped out to yell at the dog. I waved, hoping he wouldn't shoot. Surprised, he beckoned to us.
L: "Hi. We're looking..."
Dog: "WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF!!!"
Man: "SHUT UP!" *turning to us* "Jealous [female dog]... How can I help you ladies?"
So that's how we met Bogey, who apparently the barn girls pay to plow their driveway. Bogey led us over to his barn, where he kicked at two small pigs and told them they'd better run, because they were getting to be the right size for the grill. After Bogey left us we continued to poke around the barn, calling for Roton. As C-L walked toward the far end of the building, a bath-tub size pig leapt (seriously) up with its forehooves on the fence enclosing its pen. C-L jumped back, declaring it an Attack Pig. All the animals (dozens of pigs and a few chickens) oinked and squealed and brayed, and we once again decided that this barn wasn't the place for a cat.
As I made my way back to the dome, I knew my search of the area had ended. I walked into my room and sat on my bed, tired and dazed. My phone beeped signaling that I had a message.
Message: "Hi Laura, this is Mary from the Upper Valley Animal Clinic. A couple just came in and they found your cat. We have him here, so if you could call then we can arrange for you to pick him up."
Joy! I dialed the number, and my voice cracked as I agreed to be put on hold.
Thirty minutes later I met John the Rescuer at the Go-Go Mart near the Dartmouth Medical Center. John was super-nice, and told me about how he had been getting ready to go fishing with a buddy at 5:30AM Wednesday morning when he heard loud meowing across the river. He looked across and saw a kitten, apparently trying to cross the river and very distressed that he couldn't. John drove his boat from the shore at the bottom of our driveway to the other side of the river, where he met a gratetful and very affectionate Roton. Not knowing what to do with him, he took Roton home, nick-naming him "Pomp" for the Ompompanoosuc River. He called a number of local vets to see if anyone had reported a missing kitten. Finally on Friday he took Roton in to have him scanned for a microchip. They found his microchip number and used it to find his contact info, and the vet called me immediately.
Roton and I came home and took a nap. He is now looking very handsome in a collar with his name and address on it.
