On a Saturday morning as I was doing "stuff" in the kitchen I was glancing out the kitchen window. There's lots to see from that window. Chickens and roosters wandering around the yard. The swing set where I can watch the kids play. The peach trees now bare and naked with winter, eight little birds nest dotting the top of it. The pool sitting their in it's ghostly state waiting for summer to arrive again. The cover recently brittle with the cold temperatures shredded from a wind storm just the other week.
And there was Hunter walking around the edge of the pool. Five feet in depth and about a two inch ledge. It amazes me how cats are no nimble. Hunter is still young, he moved in from next door, guess he didn't like his home over their and I tried to find him another home but that didn't work. Hes a good boy, but obviously curious.
I called Scot and said look at this cat walking around the edge of the pool. Scot got up and came to look and asked, what is he doing? I don't know I said. I glanced my eyes away for just a minute and Scot said, well he just jumped in the pool. Your kidding! I looked out the window and sure enough he was not in view and I could see the sides of the pool being pounded on from the inside.
Out the door we flew and their was poor Hunter swimming in the one and a half foot of water left in the pool. He was frantically jumping up to the ledge but not making it. Around and around in the circle he was swimming and I called his name and reached in but the jumps weren't high enough. I called for Scot to get a net but it wasn't nearly big enough to rescue him. His ears were flattened to his head and he was looking so terrified. I called for Scot to get the ladder, which was nearly half way across the yard for obvious reasons.
Suddenly Hunters strokes got slower and he would sink and survival instincts kicked in and he would swim again and sink. Dear God hes going to die. With his pleading eyes looked at me. I grabbed the ledge, bent my knees and hoisted myself up to the ledge. Balancing on my belly I reached down and grabbed whatever of him that I could and pulled him out. Scot arrived with the ladder but Hunter was out of the pool, dripping wet and very cold.
I craddled him to me and ran for the back door. Grabbing a hoodie I wrapped him in it and in seconds it was soaked. Two towles later he wasn't dripping wet any longer and I rubbed his fur dry. Poor baby. I layed him under the Christmas tree and opened the front door so the sunshine would pour in and warm him.
I tried to not asked the what "if's". What if no one was home? What if I wasn't looking out the window? That whole thing lasted maybe two minutes but felt like forever until I got him out of there. But thank God it happened that day at that very minute. The pool is now drained and their is maybe two inches of water in it. Just enough to keep it from blowing away in yet another wind storm. Hunter, you will always and forever be very near and dear to my heart. I bet you used up a few of those nine lives that day.
