Rusty Left His Paw Prints All Over Me

When my eight year old son ran up on the porch with that little orange tabby bundle of fur, I said, "No! Next week you and your dad are taking it back to the country!"

"He doesn't have a mom; I found him in the barn with two other ones."

All I could think was, maybe the kitten's mom needed a reprieve too if her boy was as rambunctious as mine. The country cat became a city cat who snuggled on my chest for seventeen years. Tonight his memory is alive, and I can almost hear his purring, and feel his soft little paws wrapped around my neck. I loved that cat; he was the only constant in my life at one point, and we loved one another unconditionally.

Hopefully, readers across the globe will learn how Rusty left his Paw Prints On My Heart when they read Chicken Soup, My Cat's Life. This is my thirteenth story accepted by Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I probably have that many more stories floating out there. I submitted this essay December 12, 2009 and received a contract today, 8/31/10 The release date is April 12, 2011.

My Dog is My Hero is an anthology edited by Susan Reynolds, published by Adams Media, and that book contains a story about a goofy dog who owned us in Alaska.

Waiting for an acceptance or rejection, and especially for the contributor's copy of the book is harder than writing the story. We authors just itch to have that book in our hands.

My advice to writers, once you write it, you must release it, because it takes quite sometime from submission to publication. Just when I think an editor has passed on one of my stories, I find an acceptance in the mail. Patience is as important a tool as the keyboard or pen.

Did you ever have an animal that left its paw prints on your heart? Briefly, won't you tell me about it?