Last Friday, I had been planning a post to share one of the many stories I’ve received from supporters of The Price concerning their own pets and how this wonderful story has touched their lives, when I read the heart-breaking news: Mr. Gaiman’s own dog, a marvelous creature named Cabal who had featured in many of Neil’s own blog posts and was the subject of numerous photos he had lovingly posted, had suddenly passed away.
Photo: Cat Mihos
I had the great good-fortune to spend some time with Cabal and his playmate Lola on the sun-dappled grounds of Castle Gaiman in October of 2011, and was able to capture some footage of them enjoying the afternoon; I was also lucky enough to record Neil’s own recollection of how Cabal came into his life. I want to share it here, to pay my respects to both of them, and to express my gratitude at the chance to glimpse such a gentle and profound companionship.
Photo: Cat Mihos
A brief caveat: regretfully, the sound on this video leaves more than a little to be desired. Although I had equipped myself with a reasonably sophisticated digital recording system, I was a slightly flustered at the time (hey — I was talking with Neil Gaiman, all right??!!) and had neglected to activate a critical component. I discovered this omission with great anxiety after the fact, and was left with only the poor-quality audio provided by the small condenser mic built into the camera. In addition, both Cabal and Lola were wandering in and out of Neil’s gazebo where we were talking, crunching through small piles of dry leaves they had brought in with them from their travels. A special thanks to my sound design/wizard Rob King for making it far more tolerable than I could have hoped for. I also wanted to thank Cat Mihos and Kyle Cassidy for providing the wonderful photos and Jouni Koponen for the use of his whimsical Cabal artwork.
Hermionie by: Kyle Cassidy
Princess “Snowflake” by: Kyle Cassidy
Both Hermionie and Snowflake (along with Hermionie’s sister, Pod, a notorious ‘hider’) are some of Neil’s real life friends who play small parts in The Price. (Sadly, the sisters have both passed away as well, leaving Her Highness to rule over her remaining subjects, Joey and Coconut.)
So many of you have shared personal and moving accounts of your own pets and the impact they have had in your lives. I most recently received this email from Emmi (who gave her consent to share this story):
“Just read you latest blog entry. Thank you so much for the update. I watched the original animatic and by the end I was crying. This project is very much close to my heart. I’m sure you get a lot of people writing to you telling you that. But for what it’s worth, here’s my story.
“The Price rings true to me in particular because I feel like it’s my story. We actually had 8 cats at one time. All strays and adopted. We’re now down to 6. When we moved into our house a few more strays found us (as always). I told my husband that I swear cats leave markings like the homeless so that other cats know our house is a good place to come. This was before The Price had been published.
One day we had a stray come to the back door. He was thin, his fur not very well taken care of. He had fleas and was missing his right eye. At first he was hesitant to come into the house, but he lingered in our yard as if it had been his all along. Eventually I earned his trust and in no time he acted like he belonged here from the beginning. He was our indoor/outdoor cat. Sometimes he’d go missing for a day or two in the beginning, but he’d always come back looking a little worse for the wear. We always wondered what he had been fighting with out there. We’d keep him in for a few days while he healed, but always he’d be scratching at the door to get back outside and we’d always, eventually indulge him.
“His routine over the years never varied. My husband would let him out in the morning and he’d eventually come back home.
“One day he was looking rather thin and moving slowly. He kept slipping when he walked and was unable to jump. This was very much unlike him. We took him to the vet and found out he was dying of kidney failure. We decided to put him down about a week later and I stayed with him while he passed. It was August 13, 2012. A day I will never forget.
“Whenever I reread The Price or get your updates, I always assume it’s my kitty wanting me to know he’s still out there protecting our house and family.”
She also enclosed this image of her “beloved Martin (aka Odin)”:
A great number of backers for this project mentioned that they were donating in memory of a special cat or dog that always seemed to make them feel safer and loved a little bit more.
When it seems like there is such an abundance of inhumanity rampant in the world, it more than lifts my spirits to see how many people really do reach out to the “least of these” and give of their time and resources; how much they give of their heart.
Neil has been rather public with his love of needy animals to encourage others to do likewise, but I can personally attest to the acts of kindness he has also bestowed upon me (and I clearly qualify in the “least of these” category).
My prayers are with you, Neil, at this extremely difficult time, and I am consistently reminded as I work with your story how wonderful it can be to have someone want nothing more than to love you back.
What a lovely tribute! I cried when I heard about Cabal’s passing, cried again when I read Neil’s blog about it, and now, yet again, I have tears in my eyes. Bless you for doing this.
Thank you, Kris. I feel so lucky to have spent a little time with them both.
Gaaah! Crying again after this. Like the other commenter, cried with Neil’s blog, Amanda’s blog and now your update. Thank you!
Your welcome, Michelle (I guess)…I’m not trying to keep stirring the emotional pot.
That was a beautiful video (all the little hairs on my arms were sticking up, I am a SUCKER for dogs). I was saddened to learn the other day that Cabal had passed, I felt I knew him just from Mr. Gaiman’s journals, and I loved learning about how he came into his life. What a nice tribute to a beautiful and loyal dog.
Thanks Court; he was amazingly kind to me, a total stranger … yet gently placed himself between Neil and I whenever he was close by.
Thank you so much for this lovely tribute to Cabal….many of us have enjoyed Neil’s stories and pictures of Cabal and his companion Lola, and celebrating his life with Neil is such a perfect way to remember him.
I am so glad you feel that way, Sandra; it was all I could think to do.
what a lovely video and write-up, as well as the pictures. thank you chris for putting this together. i am so sad for Neil and his family in loosing Cabal too, he was a very special dog, as we all got to know him through Neil’s shared stories. I always feel blessed that people I greatly admire, like Neil, share their lives with us, open up to us. I hope we can all give some comfort to them as well. I see Cabal running and playing with his friends now. Many warm hugs and healing to all.
You are so very welcome, Summer. It is really quite something that Neil has shared this part of his life with so many, and I know all of the warm feelings we can send his way will do him good.
Beautiful little tribute. This was actually the first I’d heard. I can’t keep up with Twitter once school starts back in, so it was a sad shock. I think we’ve all come to love Cabal by proxy through all of Neil’s stories, plus he was just such a handsome creature. Sad to hear that he’s gone, but clearly he was in the most enviable position a dog could hope for. I have no doubt he died with a very happy heart.
I think you are right, my friend, a happy heart. It was just so sad to watch his poor body not responding properly, and he whimpered occasionally. In that sense, I’m glad he’s gone somewhere he won’t hurt anymore.
That was such a lovely tribute. I’m in tears all over again. I feel so badly for Neil. It’s so hard losing a loved one.
Thank you for also sharing my story.
Much love,
emmi
You are welcome Emmi, and thanks again for sharing with the rest of us!
The music used in the video sounds remarkably like “My Cabal” by School of the Seven Bells. I always thought of Cabal whenever I heard that song, and now the lyrics seem so apt. Thank you for such a lovely tribute to a lovely dog.
I absolutely adore School of Seven Bells! I don’t have that particular album (a fact which I will need to shortly rectify), but what a wonderful coincidence! Thanks for sharing as well as for the kind words, Trina.
Watch. Now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw_WcaZZj0o Viva Cabal.
Thanks for sharing that. I’d never heard them (or heard of them, for that matter), but loved that video and Half Asleep.
LOVED it — thanks again, Trina!!!
Very nicely done. I know what it’s like to lose a dog, and my heart goes out to Neil.
Thanks.
I know that all of the sympathy & goodwill help; thanks EV.
I am greatly saddened to hear of Cabal’s passing; I have lost several animals over the years (including my Cassiecat this past December) and it never gets easier. My deepest sympathy to Mr. Gaiman for the loss of a wonderful friend.
Chris, your video was a warm and loving gesture – it was wonderful of you to put that together. Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello Merry
so great to hear from you! After reading Neil’s blog, my heart hurt for both you and Hans. Thank-you for being there and helping everyone through it.
This was such a lovely thing to do. Cabal seemed like such a sweet dog; I loved hearing about him in Mr. Gaiman’s blog posts. It’s nice to see such a heart-warming tribute. I’m going to go hug my cat now.
Hugging you cat sounds like a great idea; I’ll hug mine too! Thanks Heather!