Thank You, Stranger: A simple note changed the course of a cat owner's grief

NINA MOINI: Time for another episode of our series called "Thank You, Stranger." It's about acts of kindness that have changed Minnesotans' lives in big and small ways. Today, we'll hear from Becky Miest in Northfield. A stranger helped pick her back up after an emotional journey with her cat. Here's Becky.

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BECKY MIEST: She just kind of came into my life at a perfect time. My mom passed away like three years ago, and I haven't been dealing with it very well. And someone just kind of dropped off this kitten at a clinic where I worked. And a coworker actually named her, because when she came in, she was only eight weeks old. And she was long haired, and my coworker was like, she looks like a dust bunny. And so Dusty Rose became her name.

So she came home with me. It's like she magically knew I needed somebody. She was mischievous. She was funny. She followed me everywhere. She would carry my socks all over the apartment. She just knew when I needed somebody. I have anxiety, so it's like she knew. So she would always just do something silly, or she'd come and just sit in my lap and purr. And she just was that one in million cat.

| live in an older apartment, and I'm on the third floor. And it just gets extremely hot, even with the air conditioner on in here. I work two and a half jobs, so I get home at 8:30, 9:00 after leaving at 6:00 in the morning. And I was just dead tired of the world, and I didn't even think about it. I just opened the window, hoping to get some fresh air in. And the next morning, she just wasn't there.

And it was raining, and I just couldn't find her. And I got a call later in the afternoon that a technician at one of the vet clinics had found Dusty, and she had passed. She had been hit by a car. And one minute she's there, and the next minute she's gone. I was having a really bad day with it. I was really blaming myself. I opened the door, and there was this beautiful plant sitting out there.

And I'm like, well, the plant must have been for somebody else. I don't have any close family or friends nearby. But it said my name on it, and I opened it up. Basically, it just said, "Hi, Mama. I miss you so much, but don't be sad. You gave me the best life I could ever have, and I can't wait to see you soon. Love, Dusty."

I don't where it came from. I've asked friends. I don't know if it was one of my neighbors. Nobody's said anything. That somebody actually thought about me-- it just really helped out. Because there are some bad days, and I think, why am I here? I'm nobody important. But then you get something like that? It just kind of-- OK, maybe I should be here. They may have thought, oh, it's just a flower and a quick little note. It took me all of 10 minutes.

But I wanted them to know I was not in a good place that day. You might have thought it was a small gesture, but you saved a life that day. I've been able to not be so mad at things and ask why because of that note and letting more people into my life. You don't know what the other person's going through. And it may be simple to them, but to me, it meant a lot.

NINA MOINI: That was Becky Miest from Northfield for our "Thank You, Stranger" series produced by Ellen Finn. Want to share a story of your own? We want to hear it. Head to Minnesota Now at mprnews.org.

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