Catz

 I have loved warm furry things since childhood. Somewhere, out there is a stuffed lion with no eyes, ragged ears and a really mangy mane. My first animal.
We adopted a black Cocker when I was just going into school. Bozo! He actually adopted us is the way it actually went. Guess he got tired of being poked,prodded and pummeled because he left us after about a year.

After we moved to Ma. there was another attempt, a yellow spaniel that was only around for a few weeks, he suffered from uncontrollable fluid leakage...the real "trickle down" affect.
My last dog was a half breed Beagle/Dalmation...think tall beagle. His demise was brought about by a runaway sled. He loved kids, running and simply put his nose in the wrong place at the wrong time. Runover by a sled...there's a great finish!
In the south, at my grandmother's we most likely had cats. They would have been out-door animals, "mousers"! None remain in the front of my memories.
Skipping ahead, just after we(Mary Ellen and I) got married a kitten was added. Memory fades (name____), lasted through our first and second apartments into our new home. All cats are strange, that's the reason we love them. This one had his share, first he would chase things like a dog. Throw something, socks, playing cards and he would flip over in the air to chase and retrieve. He liked white wine...he drank it and slept, of course cats are noted for sleeping so that wouldn't be special except for the hangover..."shame on you Mary Ellen"(it was her wine)! He was hopelessly addicted to the aroma of our brother in law. If last nights laundry wasn't put in the hamper the cat would be found lumped up in the middle of the heaped (smelly) mess. Dirty socks, b.o. ambrosia for the beast and lingering reminder after our guests departed.

He was the first of a endless chain of wonderful beasts and at least one not so wonderful. Every  one gave us laughs, stories, warmth and delight. From chasing our friend's dog, to me being wakened in the middle of the night by Brandy (the nasty one) having her new litter on my naked chest, to my final disagreement with Mary Ellen over who was keeping Buster cats were a part of our lives.

They still are. Over the last 30 something years I have had two! One, black,male, friendly, long-lived(22) and one white female, big, friendly and still with us. Over the years watching them I've seen these supposedly"dumb" animals exhibit more love, affection and care than their smarter human counterpoints. When Grace was sick the black one (Raz) became so attached to her that we started calling him Velcro!
Joined at the hip. Truly funny (now) watching them both come down the stairs in lock step...one foot, drag; next step, drag, etc. See to believe! Our current white blob (cat with no name) has the same loving nature. Perhaps too loving. She was available at the shelter because her previous owner kept being tripped by the ever present monster. We put bells on her, it helped. To those of you that "hate" cats, guess who the cat goes to first? Hope you like your new white coat!