The Power of Empathy

Our four-year-old son had been begging us to get him a pet of his own. Our two cats were getting old and sickly; we knew they would not be with us much longer, so we finally gave in to our son's wishes. We brought home a tiny kitten from our cousin's farm. When our son first set eyes on this cute little ball of black fluff, he promptly named him "Kitten."

Kitten was cute and cuddly, but being a farm kitty, he was not used to being around people and he was always underfoot. After only a week, tragedy struck. My husband was carrying a large basket of laundry and he had leaned over to set it on a chair. As he backed away from the chair, he accidentally stepped on Kitten. My son and I watched in horror as our new pet was crushed.

We screamed and cried as we wrapped our little kitty in a warm towel. Then we raced to the emergency animal clinic. My son and I prayed out loud all the way there. My husband prayed silently as he sat frozen with pain and guilt, the tears silently trickling down his cheeks.

When we arrived, we raced into the clinic and begged the veterinarian to use any life-saving measures she could to save Kitten. We called the clinic several times that night, and the medical updates went from hopeful to dismal. Early the next morning, the vet called to tell me it was hopeless and suggested that I come in to sign the orders to put Kitten to sleep. So I drove to the clinic, said good-bye to our kitty, signed the order and returned to my car to cry my eyes out.

Once I calmed down, I wondered, "How can I possibly turn this situation around?" So I picked up my cell phone and began calling every pet store and animal shelter in our area to see if anyone had a black kitten I could buy.

Time and again I was told that there were no black kittens available. Then, just as I was about to give up, I made one final call to an animal shelter located about 20 miles north of our home. Once again I found myself asking if there was a black kitten available, and to my amazement the woman said, "Yes!"

I proceeded to tell her the entire story about Kitten, pausing a few times to get my crying under control. When I had finished, I asked her if she would be willing to "hold" the kitty for me, assuring that I could arrive within the hour but I first had to pick my son up from preschool. She told me, "No. I can't hold any animals for you. We don't do that. You'll just have to take your chances and hope he's here when you arrive." I told her how my husband and son were suffering and begged her to make an exception. I even offered the name and phone number of the emergency vet so she could call to verify my story. Again, she firmly told me, "No exceptions!"

Although I was worried about disappointing our son, I decided to take my chances and tell him about this kitty. I picked him up from preschool and said, "David, I've found a little black kitty who is living in a cage and is very lonely." He looked up at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Mom we have GOT to rescue that kitty—let's go!"

So we jumped in the car and raced to the animal shelter. When we arrived, we flew through the door and immediately caught sight of a large display cage, located in the lobby, which housed one beautiful black kitten. My son said, "There he is!" Then he ran over to the cage and immediately started petting and playing with the kitty. I was so relieved, until I raised my eyes and saw the sign posted near the top of the cage—ADOPTED.

As I walked across the room, I was shaking. I asked the women working behind the counter if that was the only black kitten they had. She assured me that it was and told me he had been adopted just a little while before we arrived. When she saw the tears streaming down my cheeks, she looked over to the cage and saw my son. Then she looked back at me and whispered, "Is that your little boy?" I nodded. "Are you Deb?" Again, I nodded. She said, "I snuck the sign on the cage. That kitten is yours." Then she walked over to the cage, picked up the kitten and put it in my son's arms and said, "Thank you for rescuing this kitty. He was so lonely."

The healing had begun. One woman's willingness to bend the rules for one customer turned our tragedy around and helped to bring joy back into our family. When my husband came home from work that evening and saw our son playing with his new "Kitten," his tears of gratitude said more than any words could express.


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Emmy nominee, entrepreneur, author, television personality and winner of six national marketing awards, Debra J. Schmidt is one of the nation’s most versatile speakers and trainers. She is known as America’s “Customer Loyalty Ambassador” and author of "Sp