This is a story of love between Mina and Emma La Rue.

The connection between these two was pretty instant and they both came into our lives only months apart. Mina was first. Such a little spit fire of a kitten! She had no off button! It was 24/7 play with momentary naps in-between.

I can honestly say that Miss Mina (queen kitty) has some personality disorders. She can go from purring, hugging, kissing to full on death grip in a split second.

We had adopted Mina because our rescue dog just lost his best friend, Bella, and he was horribly depressed. The story with him is that he was a very abused dog that didn't trust anyone. His rescue mom said that he never saw the light of day his first two years of life. He was so afraid of people, that you couldn't make eye-contact with him or he would run off cowering, crying and hide :( It was quite pitiful that an animal could be in that much emotional pain. I took him to socializing classes to no avail but I knew there was 'hope' when he circled me on the last day of class and then peed on me - marking me as his human for life :)

A particularly beautiful moment between Bayley and I occurred a few weeks later:

We took a trip to the mountains for a gathering in a community that we were thinking of buying land in. On this particular day, I had Bay and Bella on a leash and we were enjoying a walk with a new friend we met. I didn't know much about her with the exception that she did a lot of work with animals and she was a very sweet person. At some point during the walk, our new friend said, "Why don't you take him off leash and let him run?" There were a lot of layers to Bay along with his anxiety and fear - also his 'wild' like tendencies - I felt very protective over him - and quite honestly didn't know what he would do in such a situation. I imagined that he would run away and never look back getting lost in the mountains. "Oh no, I couldn't do that with Bay", I answered. She reassured me that he would be okay and then said, "He loves you....I can tell....he won't run away." After some more reassuring, I took a deep breath and began unleashing him. "Don't you run away, Bay", I whispered in his ear. Again, she reassured me with a smile and with the cutting of the cord, Bay took off running as fast as his little awkward legs could carry him! Farther and farther he ran, mindlessly with no indication of slowing down. I felt my heart leap out of my chest as he had run so far ahead that I would never be able to save him. I gasped witnessing this and regretted making such a horrible mistake. Once more, our new friend assured me, "He will be fine....watch." Just as he had reached the point of disappearing from sight, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned around and 'looked at me' as if he was saying, "See...I love you and you're my human." He waited there, untethered, until I caught up to him. I will never forget that moment for as long as I live. That was the day we both learned about 'trust' together.

And our Bella picked up from there - she taught him how to cuddle, how to trust people, how to share food, how to play - the bond between them grew so intertwined over the years that he was lost without her when she left.

Unfortunately, Mina didn't fill that hole in his heart. She actually harassed him. She would even steal his sun!

Honestly, I became quite concerned about Mina. She was terrorizing Bayley and making his anxiety worse, we were all scratched up and she was being destructive:

HOW?!!!

Notice the black eyes?! Bahahaha She didn't even leave the scene of her crime - she was proud of it!

It was quite comical to my friends. They started calling her 'demon kitty' as I'd show up with bleeding puncture wounds (one bled for 2 days as she hit a blood vessel LOL). Not so comical when my kids' teachers were inquiring about the scratches all over them from her 'love'.

For the plant murdering, someone suggested I get a spray bottle and just sit it in front of my plants and she wouldn't touch them again - pffff I actually laughed at this, but it was far simpler to do than all the other suggestions so I did this primarily as an 'amusement' for my friends. The laugh was on me because it really worked - amazingly!

Bayley wasn't getting better though. I tried everything to perk his spirits. He wasn't even interested in 'treats' that much. For a 'food' driven pooch that once hid a whole pizza in my son's bed, this was a big deal. I actually had to take him to our vet to discuss his depression and anxiety. There were suggestions like Rescue Remedy, chamomile and some other herbs...but the little guy missed his best friend. It became clear to us that we were going to have to adopt a friend for him.

In the meantime, I too, was missing Bella. By some strange meshing of events, I ran into a woman that happened to have a litter of Maltese puppies (Bella was a Maltese). She was such a sweet woman that I asked her if I could just 'visit' with them - I may have even offered to scoop poop....maybe - probably :) LOL Which I would have gladly and enthusiastically done just to hold a Maltese again.

You already know where this is going, right?

Oh the feeling looking into that little Maltese face! Out of habit, I laid this very hyper puppy over in my hands and she just melted in total trust - as if in some comatose state of bliss. This was something that was unique and special between me and Bella. Something that evolved over time. Strangest thing ever and I lost my chit!

"Hey, Bay...You have a new sister!"

"Oh the joy!"

I have been trying for YEARS to capture his smile. It's a 'full teeth smile' like no other (cracks me up)! I didn't quite capture it...but almost! He was just so happy to see that he had a new sister. There was a little adjustment as Emmy was your typical kid wanting to play all the time, hanging off his ears and dangling - but he proudly and patiently put up with it. It was sweet to watch, he became the nurturer and role model - Just like Belle had done for him.

How did little Miss Mina react to her new sister? She was so excited and interested in Emma - it drove her crazy not being able to explore her. Emma, too! I had to keep them separate for a month or so because I did not trust Mina's volatile moods. But eventually, we added more and more time together and this started to emerge:

And then THIS! LOL

These two would become the best of friends and soon we noticed a change in Mina.

And when Emma became sick and couldn't eat (Pyometra was the suspected cause - early stages), Mina was right there with her helping me get her to eat. It was the sweetest thing ever and I can quite honestly say that if it weren't for Mina, I would have resorted to syringe feeding her - it was that serious - and usually took a good hour to get food in her. But because Emma had to investigate anything Mina was doing, all I had to do was call Mina to help me and she would go right to work! Pretty amazing.

After a year of Emmy being sick, her vet finally decided that surgery was warranted and again, Mina was there for her sister - as gentle as she could be - helping her through her pain.

Hey Bay! What do you think of life now?! "Cool!"

(No, this is not a fashion statement, he developed an autoimmune disease of his eyes and requires sunglasses in the sun - thankfully he doesn't mind wearing them)

When I think of how far Bayley and Mina have come, I am just amazed. Bayley made quite the scene walking around Hatteras Island with those shades on and people mindlessly ran up to him and he didn't even flinch. By golly, I think the boy is happy!

And Miss Mina....well she mostly.... has good days ;)

And the not so good days...we just try to give her space ;)

• I shared this photo on my facebook and you would not believe how many people got upset about it! I thought it was funny - A black cat, under a ladder on Friday the 13th! hehe Superstitions run deep!

"Are you actually eating dinner before feeding me?!" Laser eyes activated!

I do have a theory about Mina's moods being related to 'food' as she was found as a kitten alone and severely emaciated from starvation. I think that perhaps in her little cat mind, when she is hungry (which is always), she equates this with negative feelings and acts these feelings out unknowingly.

Given that she is loved by everyone in this house and she is so social, I think eventually we'll be able to rewrite her past with love....like Bay. Love always finds a way when the heart is open.

This post is an entry for LoveFriday created by @liliana.duarte

Have a great weekend, hopefully, full of love!!
Um óptimo fim-de-semana, preferencialmente cheio de amor!!

Let's look for love!! More love please!!(EN)

This is what I would like to see shared under the #LoveFriday:

Positivity: That's the main purpose!! In a world were wars, murthers, robbers, corruption are pumping everywhere, sharing positivity is even more precious;

Romantic or not: There is plenty of room for romantism, but not only. I personally like every kind of altruistic gestures, that is what makes our world a better place.

Stories, music, photography and any kind of art related: The window of possibilities is enormous, feel free, but remember it should be proper for all ages (no NSFW please)!

If you would like to learn more:
https://steemit.com/lovefriday/@liliana.duarte/lovefriday-love-chain-en-or-cadeia-de-amor-pt

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Have a Beautiful Weekend Full of Love!