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| A tiny white puppy.... |
| Fred was discovered on June 21, 2002.... He was a pitifully skinny creature, about 6 weeks old, flea bitten, worm bloated and generally offensive. Neighbors, Marsha, Darrell and Micah had heard him yowling the previous night and had put a bowl of milk under the neighbor's car in an attempt to appease him so they could get some sleep. The next night when it was approaching midnight, Fred was voicing his displeasure with the world again. The three of them went out in their white nightclothes, armed with flashlights and 'danced' in the moonlight of the summer solstice. It certainly impressed the neighbors.... since Darrell is a Minister. Micah captured Fred after enticing him into a shed that was armed with a bowl of milk.She escaped with only a few scratches. Fred did not escape. He was promptly fed and watered and imprisoned in Darrell's bathroom so they and the neighborhood could rest quietly for what was left of the night. |
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| The next morning I checked my answering machine from work. There was a message from Marsha. They had found a black male kitten who said his name was Fred. He also had announced that he belonged to me. I am NOT a cat person. I've always surrounded myself with dogs, the smaller the better. I considered all day how to gracefully say 'NO" to Marsha without hurting anyone's feelings. I decided that perhaps I could just ignore the whole situation and it would go away. That was not to be. I was invited to dinner that evening. When I arrived, Fred was still residing in Darrell's bathroom. He was yowling... really, really loudly. I was certain that Fred did not belong to me... no matter what he said. We ate dinner, carefully ignoring Fred's background 'musical' view of the world. I did not ask to meet him. After dinner, as I was leaving, Micah insisted to her Mother that Fred had to be cleaned up immediately. Marsha hesitated but Micah is a good daughter who knows how to get her way. Out of curiosity, I stayed to watch. Micah cuddled Fred out of the bathroom and he found himself residing in the kitchen sink. Fred was not pleased and started yowling again. The warm water soon soaked through the hair and it became obvious just how pitifully skinny he was. After a warm bath he was transported to the kitchen table for fluffing. He was combed for fleas, his nails were clipped and he swallowed his worm medicine like it was delicious. Fred's personality transformed. He was purring and cuddling through it all, even holding out his paws for inspection. It was getting late when I finally left. As I was going out the back door, Marsha told me again he was my cat. I admitted that I knew that, but I needed to deny it for a few more days. She agreed that was fine. |
| And so it came to pass that Fred landed in my bathroom. We looked and sniffed at each other suspiciously for a few days. After I had had several cat scans, Fred decided he had done well. I was still skeptical as Fred hunkered down and took over ownership of the entire house. In order to appease me in my "I am NOT a cat person" state, Fred learned a magic trick. He can now appear to be a small white puppy whenever I enter his territory. He has also gained a second name. "Yo!Fred". Mostly he refuses to appear when I only call him Fred. So when I don't really care if he appears I simply holler "Fred". He hears me, I know he hears me and we agree that that is fine and it is good to know that we are both in the house. When I feel the need to see him, I yell, "Fred?!?" Yo!Fred?!?! Where are you? Yoooo!Freeeeddd?!" and he suddenly appears and rolls over onto his back awaiting a belly rub. Whenever anyone else looks at him they see a black cat. Generally the first startled reaction is, "How old is he?" I answer that he's now about seven months old, to which people respond... "He's HUGE!" I calmly correct them in their error and reply that he is NOT huge. He is a very small white puppy. It is then that everyone except Marsha, Micah and Darrell start backing slowly out of the room.... Very cautiously agreeing with me. I suspect that Marsha and Micah can see my tiny, white puppy. Darrell is probably humoring me only so he won't end up with a huge black homeless cat in his bathroom again |
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| This is Yo!Fred with his best friend and cousin, Sha!lava. Sha!lava is Marsha and Darrell's 'big yellow cat'. Sha!lava comes to visit several times a week. |
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