Frodo Emily

Dear Marjorie,

We are making this donation in the memory of Ron Mitchell and on behalf of Emily.

In early 2006 Ron had to enter a long-term care facility in south Edmonton. Through a series of events we agreed to take care of his old friend “Rusty”. At first, it looked like Rusty would only be around for a few months what with his age (20) and being almost blind. It also didn’t look good for Ron. He was on a feeder tube and seemed destined for a lonely end.

Since Ron was only a few blocks from our home it was decided to bring Rusty over for a regular weekly visit. Amazingly, Rusty would stay with Ron for hours at a time. The joy of friendship was very helpful to Ron as he slowly improved, and also for Rusty, who had his friend back.

In October 2006 we were able to take Emily from your shelter and she slowly became acclimatized to living in a home with other felines. She wanted to be the Queen, but had to settle for a ranking somewhere equal to the others. With Rusty, we had three already. In February 2007, Rusty passed on, but not before helping his friend get to a point where he could actually eat solid food again.

It was a clear that a void had been created, so we decided to try Emily as companion in the same manner as Rusty had been. What a great success! She saw Ron two afternoons each week and would stay on his bed for hours just like Rusty. Ron was able to get up and walk her around the facility showing her off to all. Life was good.

Sadly Ron passed away in September at 9O years of age. We know that Rusty and Emily made his last years comfortable, and much more than one would expect in an institutional environment.

Without Emily as a therapy cat, we are sure that the last few months would not have been pleasant at all. She gave him a bright light and a reason to enjoy life. It goes without saying that your efforts at the Foundation have a direct bearing on Ron’s life and we want to thank you for the work you do. Emily is happy now (but still not the queen!)