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Bubble's story continued... On the third day, I took her to a cremation place, and while there I told Bubble, "Mommy is going to find you again." I felt this very strongly and drew much comfort from the thought. At home I took out Bubble's picture and as I gazed at her a plan began to develop in my mind. I visited the girl who first bought Bubble (the young girl whose parents would not let her keep the kitten). I got the purchase receipt from her, then went down to the pet shop, where I showed them the picture of Bubble and the receipt, and asked them if they knew where Bubble came from. Miraculously, they were able to locate the couple who sold them the kitten. This couple, who also owned Bubble's mother, had apparently run into financial difficulties, so they sold the kittens to the pet shop. I got the address and phone number of the couple and made arrangements to visit them. At their home, I saw a very friendly tabby cat and two eight-week-old kittens. One looked so much like Bubble, for a moment I thought it was Bubble but I knew that couldn't be. I so loved the resemblance that I named her Angel and decided there and then to take her home. The couple told me that Bubble's mother always hung around with a certain, very handsome black male cat. He was very mean and would allow no other male cat near her, but no one seemed to know who owned him or where he was from. I decided to knock on all the neighbors' doors to try and find the owner of the black cat. When I got to the last door of that block, I was just about to give up, but the lady who answered said yes, they did own a black cat matching the description I gave! I was so excited, and asked them if I could borrow the male for a few days because I wanted to mate him with Bubble's mother again. The lady was very nice and agreed to do it after I told her my story. When I returned to the couple's home, they said they would be unable to keep Bubble's mother any longer because they were getting a divorce, and if I couldn't take her, they were going to take her to the pound. At that point I was very happy, because I could take her home along with the black male cat. I named her Crissy. The black cat stayed with Crissy for about a week, after which I returned him to his owner. After 60 days, Crissy had a litter of seven kittens: Four black, two dark gray, and one silver gray that looked so much like Bubble, I knew that she had come back to me. When the kittens were about 8 weeks old, I began trying to find homes for all of them except Bubble. Because of my inexperience, I was only asking neighbors and friends, who at first would want to adopt but then later would change their minds, and I didn't feel comfortable with this. So I decided to keep them all. When going through Bubble's experience, I never knew about pet over-population. It was just common sense that led me to make arrangements to get all the cats spayed and neutered, but somehow a part of me slowly started to waken. I seemed to feel closer to cats than before -- I paid more attention to what was happening. That started my fifteen years of rescue work where I found all kinds of animal suffering due to human indifference. It made me realize God had sent "Bubble" to open my eyes and my heart to all living creatures. Bubble's death and the rescue of her mother, her sisters and brothers was the beginning of my lifetime goal. I am very grateful to be able to participate in this life to help others understand that animals share our planet. We don't own the earth, we are the gardeners of the earth, and we are here to care for everything on earth the best way we can. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line we lost that deep sense of love and compassion for all living creatures. Because of the idea of "yours" and "mine", racial issues, possessions and greed, we became lost in the day-to-day survival routine and shut out our inner sense of compassion and love for each other. It took the animal rescue work to help me realize that everything on this earth is part of us. We are all here to learn. There is always a reason and meaning behind whatever happens to us, whether it is good or bad. So it is very important to develop an inner sense of commitment to our planet and to participate and give as much as we can to make the earth a better place for everyone. Any help makes a difference. I hope someday you will open your heart and become part of the growing number of people who are trying very hard to help save our planet. Vicky Lynn Asians For Humans, Animals & Nature (AHAN) was found in San Francisco in 1994. It was the first Asian organization to deal with Asian animal abuse issues in United States. Since then, it took the lead with an effective strategy and other international organization's cooperation, AHAN managed to push Taiwan to pass the first Animal Protection Law in 1998). AHAN also help rescuers with their adoption program locally and internationally. AHAN continues to speak up for the voiceless in the United States and Asian countries.
"There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways."
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