Woof! What? Woof!
George Miller experienced just how easy things would be if dogs could talk. His four-legged friend sat staring straight ahead for days at a certain spot on the wall. It took George quite some time to realize what his dog was looking at, but once he did, he went from one surprise to another.
The dog
Crosby, George’s dog, had been staring at the same spot on the wall for days. He only left this position at mealtime. Even though George had already inspected every bit of wall several times, he decided to get up again and take another look at what was holding his pet’s attention.
And, like all the times before, the dog, Crosby, was convinced George had understood him when he headed for the wall. The happy dog hopped around the room, wagging his tail happily. The inspection had been in vain again, George didn’t understand at all. What was wrong with that wall?
George
George Miller, a 29-year-old bachelor, had become very lonely after moving to another city. He decided to go to the shelter and fell head over heels in love with Crosby, who was still a puppy at the time. George loved his four-legged friend and over the years he learned that a dog is indeed a man’s best friend.
Crosby was George’s favorite topic of conversation. Whether on a date or chatting with colleagues over lunch, he often talked about his dog. “Crosby is one of the sweetest animals you will ever meet,” he would say. “And he’s very loyal.”
George had no idea what adventure he would have thanks to Crosby.
Crosby
George hadn’t exaggerated a word, Crosby was indeed a very sweet dog. The animal was also very social. He was delighted when George took him to the dog park. Getting his buddy home again was a different story: that turned out to be quite a job every time.
Strangely enough, Crosby hadn’t been interested in the park for days. George had taken him with him several times, but each time Crosby wanted to go home as quickly as possible after doing his business. Was everything okay with Crosby? Was the animal sick or even depressed?
Nothing turned out to be less true!
Friends
Crosby was kind to everyone he met, both humans and animals. Still, he had some favorites, including George’s neighbor’s cat and dog. For years, Crosby played with his furry neighbors, much to the delight of human onlookers. Unfortunately, disaster struck, and his two best friends died shortly after each other.
A huge downer for Crosby, as he was such a social animal. This was the main reason George took him to the dog park so often. That is why it raised many questions for George when Crosby no longer wanted to play with his animal friends suddenly. Instead, he just sat staring at that wall.
What was going on?
The first day
One day George came home from work. Much to his surprise, his best friend, Crosby, was not waiting for him in the hall. George sprinted through the house without taking off his coat, something was very wrong here! Normally when he came home every day he was welcomed by a very enthusiastic dog.
When George arrived in the living room, he saw Crosby sitting there, dead still, staring at the wall. George called his dog, overjoyed that he was okay. There was no reaction from the animal. In astonishment, George called again, but again the dog did not respond.
George decided to crouch next to his friend and look at the wall as well.
Crosby moves again
He didn’t notice anything on the bit of wall they were staring at together. After a while, Crosby was done staring and he finally realized that his owner was home. Enthusiasm now surfaced, albeit with a considerable delay. The dog acted as if nothing had happened, and George was greatly relieved.
Whatever had been on the wall, Crosby had escaped his hyper focus and realized he was hungry. George filled his bowl with kibble and then went for a nice walk with him. George had no idea this wasn’t going to be a one-off.
What’s going on?
Crosby behaved quite normally for the rest of the evening, but when George had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he was surprised to see his dog nailed to the floor again in the same spot. What was wrong with his best friend?
George didn’t notice at first, not fully awake, but Crosby looked very sad. The two had been together for so long that George seemed to be able to sense his dog’s mood: it was as if a very dark cloud hung over his head. And the dog kept staring at that same spot on the wall.
What could be seen there anyway? The answer to this question turned out to be very moving.
Time for a camera
After five days of watching his dog be entertained by a blank wall all day, George thought it was enough. It was time to find out what was going on. He got up early and went to the nearest electronics store, where he bought a security camera with night vision goggles.
George plugged the camera in and pointed it at his dog’s back and the wall where Crosby was staring. He had to hurry because he was almost late for work. George placed the camera in a place Crosby couldn’t reach, then quickly grabbed his lunch from the fridge and jumped back into the car.
What would the camera record?
What does Crosby want to say?
What happened when George looked at the CCTV footage? Crosby didn’t stare at the wall all day at all. The footage clearly showed that he only sat there when George was around. When Crosby heard George approach, he quickly sprinted to the living room, where he took his now-familiar spot opposite the wall.
Why did he do this? It seemed as if Crosby was trying to make something clear to his owner. But what? The craziest part was that the dog was always very happy whenever George bothered to inspect the wall. The beast hadn’t been this merry since the death of its furry neighbors!
What was there to see on the wall?
Huh? What was that?
George decided to use his dog’s enthusiasm as a sort of metal detector. The closer George got to a certain spot on the wall, the happier Crosby became. Especially a spot low to the ground seemed to evoke a very violent reaction in the four-legged friend. George decided to get down on his knees and study the spot carefully.
Suddenly George heard a strange noise. “What the hell was that?” he later heard himself say out loud when he reviewed the security camera footage. With his heart in his throat, George realized there was something in the wall. He turned to Crosby, “Have you heard this all along, kid?”. Crosby didn’t answer, of course.
What could be hiding in the wall?
In the wall
George couldn’t control his curiosity any longer and decided to break a piece of the paneling, which was already loose, from the wall. There was a hole in the drywall that was now exposed. How did this hole get there? He didn’t have mice in the house, did he?
Because the hole was low to the ground, George couldn’t get a good look into it. Even with his night vision camera, there was little to see, so there was nothing to do but feel around to discover where this hole led. George dug his arm into the plasterboard up to his elbow and felt the inside carefully. He was shocked when his fingers suddenly touched something.
“What is this, Crosby?” George whispered to his dog.
The discovery
George’s fingers explored the inside of the hole and found a lot of debris. Dirt, insulating material, bits of plasterboard: the expected result of digging into such a hole in the wall. But suddenly George heard the sound again, not muffled by the paneling this time. George’s hand just didn’t reach far enough, so he started clearing some of the debris from the hole.
George made the hole a bit bigger. Once the way cleared up, George put his arm in even deeper into the hole and let his hand explore the space again. He had to find out what was hiding in this hole. It had captured Crosby’s attention for five days, so it had to be something very special.
He could never have predicted what he would find in this hole in the wall…
Got you!
George felt around in the hole carefully. He again felt rubble, insulation, bits of plasterboard, and… What was that? His fingers suddenly touched something soft and warm. George withdrew his arm from the hole reflexively and stared at Crosby in disbelief. He began to bark and wag his tail loudly as if encouraging George to continue the fumble.
George’s hand disappeared into the hole again, but this time he was wary. He ran his fingers over the bottom carefully until he felt the warm, furry object again. It felt like some kind of little animal. He even felt the animal tremble with fear. Not surprising, if a big hand comes at you unexpectedly.
George grabbed the animal and withdrew his hand from the hole.
The little animal
Turns out there was a little kitten hiding in the hole behind the paneling! The poor creature had been trapped there for at least five days since that’s how long Crosby had been trying to draw his owner’s attention to the hole. George noticed that the little kitten looked a lot like the neighbor’s dead cat. Super coincidental!
How did this kitten get into the wall? Did this have anything to do with Crosby? The dog had known that the kitten was hiding in the hole for days. George was thrilled to finally figure out what had captured his dog’s attention. Luckily the kitten was still alive!
Curious how the kitten got into this situation? Read on quickly!
The kitten
The creature was covered in dust and must have been very hungry. That the little cat was thirsty was immediately apparent when George put a bowl of water in front of him: the kitten drank the water greedily. Crosby, barking and wagging his tail, jumped around the little cat, who didn’t care. Meanwhile, George continued to pet the animal to reassure him or her.
How did this creature get into the wall? And who was the mother of this kitten? George was very dubious about the best approach. Should he take the kitten to the vet, or should he look for the owner first? Since the animal was drinking well, George decided he probably had enough time to focus on the latter first.
The search for answers began!
Looking for the owner
George had a strong suspicion of how the animal had ended up in his house. He gave Crosby a piercing look. Had his four-legged friend sometimes taken this kitten inside his mouth because he no longer wanted to be lonely? But where did his dog suddenly get a kitten? Crosby, of course, didn’t answer these questions and just stood there wagging his tail happily.
Even with George’s little knowledge of cats, he could estimate that this cat was less than 2 months old. That was it: George had no idea how best to take care of the animal. Therefore, he very much hoped that the cat’s owner was looking for his pet.
George went looking for the owner…
The neighborhood helps
George rang the doorbell of all his neighbors, but none of them had lost a cat. After that, George put up posters in his neighborhood, but these also yielded nothing. You would think that such a cute kitten would be sorely missed by his owner, so George was very surprised to see no response to his inquiries.
George only got further in his search when he decided to share a photo with his fellow residents. Several of them indicated that they had seen the cat before. They were convinced that it was a stray kitten because cat owners often do not let their precious animals outside at that age.
George decided to take the cat to the vet. He should be able to easily find the owner with the help of the microchip!
To the vet
The vet gave the kitten a thorough checkup. She took blood from the animal, looked in his ears, eyes, and mouth, and did several other tests. The animal turned out to be perfectly healthy, but very hungry. The vet conjured up a bag of kibble and the kitten didn’t hesitate for a second.
While the animal was enjoying its first meal in 5 days, the vet scanned its neck. Unfortunately, the kitten did not have a microchip, which confirmed the suspicion that it was a stray cat. Miller decided to post the photo he took of the kitten on social media, but unfortunately, the owner was not found. Miller faced a difficult choice.
What would he do?
Take it home temporarily
While George thought about what to do with the animal, he let him recover in his house for several days. Crosby loved having such an animal friend around. The kitten also seemed to like the attention and liked to chase Crosby’s tail.
Still, George decided he didn’t want a second pet. The kitten might be cute, but it was an extra responsibility that George didn’t want. So, he took the cat to the shelter after a few days. He was fully prepared to say goodbye to the kitten there.
That turned out to be something else…
The shelter
George’s heart was already breaking when the cat, meowing, sat in the basket on the passenger seat. Despite his emotions, George remained determined to deliver the cat to the shelter. Once he got there, he spoke to the receptionist and explained the situation. He looked pityingly at the kitten in the carrier, then said something that made it impossible for George to leave the cat there.
“We already have so many kittens here that need a home…” she began. “We simply don’t have room. We can accept this animal, but I’m afraid he will get an injection.” The shelter couldn’t take in more animals. They were full.
George stared at the receptionist in disbelief, then decided to call the vet for advice.
The phone conversation
The vet told George there was indeed a good chance that the kitten would be euthanized if he left him at a shelter. George remembered how excited Crosby had been and how sweet the kitten had been with him for the past few days. He could not get this over his heart. Was there no other option?
“You can try to give the kitten away via the internet, but then you run the risk that it ends up with a less loving owner,” said the vet. “The same goes for releasing the animal on the street. It was a stray cat, so anything can just happen.”
George had grown attached to the animal and realized he had only one real option.
One big happy family
He decided to adopt the kitten. The kitten became the newest member of the family he already formed with Crosby. Crosby was thrilled and the kitten immediately started purring when he got home. In fact, George had realized all along that he wouldn’t be able to let go of the cat.
George named the kitten Mister Jingles. Crosby was no longer lonely and loved his new animal friend immensely. The kitten was welcomed with open arms and now finally had a loving home. And all this after Crosby spent five days staring at a spot on the wall.
To adopt
Shelters all over the world are chock-full. The poor animals that stay here urgently need a new home. If you are not able to permanently adopt a pet, you can always see if you can provide temporary shelter for the four-legged friends. Dogs and cats are our best friends, so you’ll get a lot of love in return!
There are, of course, other ways to help the shelters: you can donate money, volunteer, or point out the benefits of adopting a pet to other people. Please contact a shelter near you to see what you can do for them!
