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"UGLY....."

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was.  Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in the world:  fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love.

The combination of these things, combined with a life spent outside,  had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye and  where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been  badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle,  making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail had  long ago been lost leaving only the smallest stub which he would constantly jerk and twitch.

Ugly would have been a dark grey tabby, striped type, except for  the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick  yellow scabs. Everytime someone saw Ugly, there was the same  reaction. "That's one UGLY cat!"

All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw  rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come  into their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not  leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose  on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and  quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl up his lanky body  around feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing  frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their  love. If you ever picked him up, he would begin immediatedly  suckling on your shirt, earrings , whatever he could find.

One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's huskies. They did  not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment  I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time  I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly's sad life was  almost at an end.

Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly  out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his  front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear  him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling.  It must be hurting him terribly, I thought.

Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in  so much pain, suffering and obviously dying, was trying to suckle  my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my  hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me,  and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest  pain, that ugly battle-scarred cat was asking only for a little  attention, perhaps some compassion

At that moment, I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving  creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch  me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly  just looked up at me completely trusting me to relieve his pain.

Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held  him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred,  deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means  to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly. Ugly  taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books,  lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always  be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred  on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love  truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.

Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me, I will always try to be like Ugly.  Author Unknown To Me

Dede's Note: Wow! I had a hard time typing this one up being  the animal lover that I am. It took forever to type this as I had  tears rolling down the whole time. I know this is just a story to  make a point, but if I were the person writing this, the very first  time I saw Ugly, I would have had him to the vet and he would have  had a permanent home, safe, and loved forever by me. I love  animals as much as I love children and I can't stand by and see  them abused either. May God forgive any person that would ever  abuse an animal as most are so defenseless and cannot fight back.

THIS PAGE PUT TOGETHER BY JIMMY

TO VISIT MY FIRST FULL GUESTBOOK CLICK HERE

Midi playing is When the Angel's Near by "Bruce Deboer" and is used with permission