It's amazing to see how our pets just seem to know even before we do that someone is not well, to witness the love and comfort they give can mean so much. I've gotten to witness it from two of my cats, one of which is no longer with us due to drivers going too fast on our street. She was the 4th pet to be hit by a car on our street and 2nd to be taken from us, and yes we took many efforts to keep them contained but cats are especially difficult to train.
A year ago today I was able to capture her comforting my youngest daughter even before I figured out she was ill and not just sleepy. Her name was Dublin, she never left my daughter's side for those two days, except to use the litter box and only nourished herself maybe twice, she gave my little one so much comfort and is very much missed 4 months later.
Our first pet lost to our over used cut through street was taken from us less than a year before, when Dublin was a tiny kitten. He was the cat I had wanted for over 10 years and he looked almost exactly like the cat I grew up with and loved so dearly. I saved and saved for a cat like him for nearly a year and a half and spent a pretty penny on him and all it took was him running loose outside for 5 minutes after getting home from the groomers, I only went inside to get one of his toys to draw him out from under our neighbors car across the street, he didn't even reach his 2nd birthday.
Our current cat Heathcliff is quite the comforter too, these last several weeks have been chaotic with my husband working long hours and or away for work, he just seems to know when I'm about to break down and or need to be calmed down. My son who is autistic gets lots of attention from him when he's having a bad day, giving him comfort when he needs it. We hope he survives our unusually busy street and maybe just continues to keep up his back yard, chasing off other cats that find interest in our chickens...or his chicken friends, and gets to grow old with us
Speed check signs have been rented by numerous neighbors this past summer, it seems like some drivers have gotten the hint, but what else would you do to get through to drivers before it's a human child that is hit?