Andre’s Eyes In the life of any rehabber there are a few animals that come along that will forever define ones mission. Such was the case of Andre. Andre left me on October 8th, 2009 to go to his permanent home at the Wild Cat Sanctuary in Minnesota where he will reside for the remainder of his life in a spacious 10,000 square foot cage along with at least two other Cougar cubs of similar age and size. Andre’s beginnings are a little less defined than his ending here at Critter Care. He came to us as a young cub about 10-12 weeks of age apparently orphaned by some twist of circumstance we will undoubtedly never know exactly how or why he came to be alone. At this time Renee Mayne a dear friend and colleague of mine assumed his care. As was soon to become the case with me, Andre touched the very essence of why we do what we do. His rhythmic purr and flashing blue eyes bored deep into her heart, and as I will repeat many times into mine as well, which made her imminent departure all the more indecisive and painful. Cougar cubs of this age are beginning to wean and Renee introduced Andre to a variety of game meat and chicken along with a twice daily ration of KMR fed in a bowl rather than a bottle. Renee became mother and comfort to Andre through these early weeks and was to be her departing animal in care as she had already planned to return to Brisbane, Australia prior to Andre’s arrival. I arrived on August 20th in the midst of the action to find a little spotted kitten with twice the fight of his diminutive body. Andre had rarely been around men up until this juncture and his initial welcome to me was less than rewarding including an unsure hiss and a rather impolite snarl. Fortunately, having had a brief background with wild cats I didn’t take the encounter personally and set about establishing my relationship with him. In the wild male cougars will often kill male cubs in their territory and I am sure with my male presence it was initially quite terrifying to our little guy, but this would soon change. Unlike the other animals here it was my job to build a bond with Andre and prepare him for a life in captivity rather than for release. British Columbia at this time, does not allow the release of cougar cubs back into the wild despite landmark release programs in Washington State, New Mexico and Idaho all of whom have successfully been releasing cougars since as early as 1992 with no ill affects to farmers, domestic animals or humans in general. That however, is not this story. Everyday I would feed Andre morning and evening at the same time setting up enrichment for him and acclimating him to my presence. For the first few days there was little contact then gradually with mum no longer present he began to initiate more and more contact from initially tapping me with soft paws to finally succumbing and flopping wholesale into my lap for a rub and the simple caress of contact. I cannot begin to relate the surge of emotions that come from being in proximity with an animal like this. There are few bonds that mirror it and the only similarity I can draw is the bond that I share with my children Ethan 14 and Riley 10. Rehab never was and never will be a 9-5 occupation, it is in short your life and in keeping with this my time with Andre became my life. As our relationship built I spent more and more time in the cage with him. In truth there were several nights I awoke with the perfume of sweet straw in my nostrils, the warmth and the weight of a body on my chest and whir of a purr in my ears. Upon opening my eyes it always brought a smile to my face to see the now steely gray eyes staring back at me. Gradually as Andre grew I taught him manners like any good father would. Manners for a cat include playing without claws where humans are concerned and never, ever, ever being allowed to bite any part of the body in play or otherwise! Andre took his lessons in stride despite Grandma Gail always putting her fingers in his mouth! A big NO NO in cat manners lessons, but what can you do she’s the boss! Andre also started becoming proficient in walking on a leash (a necessary evil of life in captivity) which would prove helpful in moving him later in life with limited stress. All of these lessons only served to strengthen our bonds of trust and indeed, if I may be anthropomorphic for a moment, love. Why we try to separate these emotions from animals and ourselves is not a mystery to me for just as in us humans, animal emotions are often difficult to decipher and it is our lack of understanding that brings the danger not a lack of emotions felt. Andre and I loved each other and the recognition of that bond was borne out through routine visits to the Big Cat vet we went to who often remarked how different Andre was when I was around. When Renee returned in early October to say goodbye with me to Andre she was worried that he would not remember her and that the bond had been severed. I assured her he would remember and was soon rewarded by him bounding toward her and embracing her as if she had never left. Life is all about moments and even now as I sit here and write this brief story of Andre and Me there is a bigger story of the many people that Andre touched in the short time he was here at Critter Care. It is a story of waking wonder in young people and old. It is a story of compassion for all living beings. It is a story of love that confounds understanding of the careful balance we must maintain with the animals that we have dominion over. We are not superior but we have dominion, he reminded me of this in his eyes. Andrew Thompson Animal Care Supervisor