We Lost Dancer Yesterday
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM Dave Bernazani
Facebook post, July 17, 2021

Gradually, slowly, she came out more and more, and it was a joy to watch her playing with her toys, sometimes even standing up and spinning around with them. That’s how she became ”Dancer.”

It is with great sadness I wanted to let everyone know that we lost Dancer yesterday, here in Romania. This morning, speaking with neighbors, we pieced together what happened.

She snuck out the night before last (something she had never done before) and for some reason, went into the street. At night in this village there are virtually no cars, but somehow, by incredibly bad chance, she was hit by one. The angels were calling her home, it seems.

She had such an endearing personality. Despite being trapped 12 years ago in the woods and brought to the public shelter for spaying, and being terrified and torn from her babies, she never hissed or swatted or anything. She just looked up at us (the veterinary staff) with those big, beautiful green eyes. It was love at first sight. I simply couldn’t release her back in the wild, to face hardship and hunger. Instead, getting permission from the kind lady who trapped her, I took her home, where she hid behind the dryer for two days. But gradually, slowly, she came out more and more, and it was a joy to watch her playing with her toys, sometimes even standing up and spinning around with them.

That’s how she became ”Dancer.”

It took months for me to gain permission to pet her, but when I finally did, all the barriers came down, and she and I were partners for life. She was a joy to everyone who met her. She even sometimes meowed in an odd way and arranged her little stuffed animals as if they were her babies.

When we moved to Romania, there was no question about what to do with her and our other rescue TomTom; we brought them both with us. And here she spent four more happy years, being waited upon paw and foot, until yesterday’s tragic events.

We are heartbroken at the loss of our beloved, beautiful girl. She will reside forever in our hearts. Goodbye, sweet Dancer. I hope you’ve found your babies now.

---

Return to: Animal Stories