‘Mickey gave me something to live for’
Christine Leinonen, 64, lives in Polk City, Florida.
Unable to sleep, I was scrolling through Facebook at 3am on 12 June 2016 when a post jumped out at me – there had been a shooting at Pulse, a gay bar in Orlando. I knew my son Christopher, 32, and his boyfriend Juan were inside.
Later, I learnt they had been among the 49 killed, and my world collapsed.
The only thing that kept me going was my black and white cat, Mickey, who I’d rescued from a shelter with his sister Minnie. Mickey had always been an aloof cat, but as I grieved, he started to jump up on my lap and refused to be ignored. Stroking him brought me back to the present and looking after him gave me something to live for. I became an activist for gun control laws in the US, campaigning in Christopher’s name. Coming home to Mickey was a calming distraction. I’m so thankful I took him in – fate definitely knew I’d need him one day.