Take me to Dove Lewis.

I miss you too.
You might not have known this, but I was a lesbian in my fleshier days. And up here in cat heaven, I'm gettin more pussy than I know what to do with. Bye bye. meow.
—Meera

Take me to Dove Lewis.
I've been bitching about not being able to find Night Cabbie in WW's new web. It's nice to see my favorite column back. By the way...where have you been? With gas at 3 bucks a gallon...probably "out of service".
—East of the river

Take me to Dove Lewis.
You know, more than any other comment posted to any other column, this one makes me realize just how seriously weird some people are...

She must have been bi then, because she had a "husband," Boris, who has slept in her special spot, carried around her toys, and generally been a much more vocal and needy cat in the months she's been gone. Anyone who thinks that animals can't grieve is seriously mistaken.
—nightcabbie

Take me to Dove Lewis.
Thank you, Night Cabbie for your articles. This one made me cry. Yours is the first thing I turn to when I grab a WW.

Keep writing, I'll keep reading.

—joanette

Take me to Dove Lewis.
Haven't been anywhere. I know the column is hard to find now, but it's still been there every week but two. They're all archived on the site.
—nightcabbie

Take me to Dove Lewis.
Really? Over a cat?? Circle of life, natural selection, yadda yadda...

C'mon people. Easy with the aggrandizement.
—Darwin

Take me to Dove Lewis.
Both the main article and your story about Boris brought tears to my eyes. I've made a few late-night trips to Dove Lewis. I wish more people would take the opportunity to learn from the compassion of our critter companions.

While I'm commenting on here, I want to thank you for writing such a deep, thoughtful, and varied column. It reminds me of Jernigan Pontiac's column, Hackie, which is published in Seven Days, the local weekly in Burlington, Vermont, and online at www.sevendaysvt.com

Yours may not be the first thing I turn to - that would have to be Letters, on Wednesday mornings - but every few weeks I catch up online. Your stories present another beautiful cross-section of Portland humanity. Thanks for showing us all more reasons to love this town.

--

Gavin White

chair@multdems.org

gavin.white@alumni.reed.edu
—Gavin Weld White

Take me to Dove Lewis.
Night Cabbie, you are the cat's pajamas. This was the first time I stopped to read your column and now I'm hooked. As a (54 year old) cat lover, I must say that "DARWIN" and his comment both suck wind. He is obviously lacking a soul. You, however, ROCK, SISTER!
—Christine

Take me to Dove Lewis.
I have just today discovered your column and am enjoying the archives. I will from now on make a point of logging on to look for it. That said, I read with tears "Take me to Dove Lewis." I too have experienced the loss of a cat and the mutual support and mourning from the other household kitties. One thing I wanted to pass along... when one of my cats had been taken away from the other cats into a quiet room before passing away, the other cats were anxious and looked for her, knowing something was wrong. They would not settle down, were vocal and pacing. She had adopted them years ago as abandoned kittens. She was "mom" to them, and the "alpha kitty" of the household. I still had her in a box in the closed room, awaiting my roomate to come home to say goodbye to her and take her to his family's farm for burial. It finally occured to me since she had not died from anything infectious, to lay her body down by them for a few minutes so that they might see that she was gone, much like we humans sometimes have to have a funeral or a viewing to believe it. They spent a few minutes with her, then the anxious behavior ceased and did not return, even though they still exhibited mourning behavior for weeks. I realized that perhaps to them, when I took her away they had no reason to believe their friend was not still alive and that we had just taken her somewhere and forgotten to bring her back, or accidentally left her outside -- until they saw for themselves that she had passed.
—Familiars' Friend

Take me to Dove Lewis.
This is the first time for me to read a Night Cabbie article & I found it a treat to read. I grew up always having a cat and dog. Now, that I'm adult and married to someone deathly allergic to cats, I have several dogs.

Animals are amazing creatures, and I thought this article was touching and conveyed very accurately the emotional connection we "crazy" pet owners have with our animals. Dogs, cats, ferrets, horses, whatever... If you love an animal it is a wonderful & fulfilling experience.

Readers who wrote in and "poo-pooed" this article have obviously never experienced "inter-species love", as I like to call it... I feel sorry for them. I can't imagine my life now without an animal in it.

I personally feel our treasured and loved pets give far more to us than we give them. And if IQ and intelligence tests were based on the ability to read body language and intuitively read human emotion (rather than on verbal skills), I'm not so sure we wd rank as the most "intelligent" species on the planet.

My thoughts are with the anonymous young lady who lost her cat. I hope she is feeling a less sad about losing this special (and lucky) kitty that came into her life.
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