Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Contest Entry

NHS (Nevada Humane Society) is holding a contest in support of their current "Less-Adoptable, But Still Lovable" promotion. Below is my entry - wish me good luck!
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I love cats. I have cats. I know that makes me – a single woman of a “certain” age - a walking cliché. I was determined to break the cliché and get myself a dog for my birthday. This required many visits to the Nevada Humane Society – about two a week – to check out the dogs. So imagine my surprise when it was a cat that caught my eye.

His name was Buster, and he was one of the Virginia City rescues. I first saw him on Facebook: he was the only one of the bunch who didn’t look scared or cautious. Below his picture were no less than 15 posts all stating that he was a lovely boy, along with an expressed interest in adopting him. I was quite surprised to find him at NHS, as there had been so much online interest in him.

He communicated with me, so I spent time with him. He was bony, and had something wrong with his left eye. Despite his physical challenges, he was friendly and playful. But I was there to get a dog, so I left to check them out.

The next time I went to NHS, he was still there. What? So many people were interested in him. Why was he still there? Was it because of his eye? It actually looked worse. Was it his lack of teeth? I had no answers.

A week later, Buster was still there. He’d had eye surgery, and his eye area was shaved and he almost looked worse than when he had a growth over his eye. Still, he was glad to see me and pushed his paw out, beckoning me to come closer. I did. I talked to him a while, petted him, and then told him I was going to go visit with the dogs. However, when I left it wasn’t a dog on my mind – it was Buster.

Finally, I couldn’t fight it any more – Buster, gross eye and all, was going to be my next pet.

He required medication for his eye – and it was not easy to put on. I decided I could do it, filled out the paperwork. I was told he’d need a special diet and of course his eye would need to be looked after. However, at that point I could not be dissuaded – it was obvious he was going to be my “dog.”

His eye still doesn’t look right, and although he was supposed to be on a special diet of “pate,” he decided he likes dry food better, and gums it on down. I’m still not quite sure how he does it –it is kind of fascinating to watch.

Don’t tell the other cats I told you so, but he’s my favorite. He is the easiest cat to have around and he’s affectionate, in an easy, undemanding way. He greets me at the door, and he follows me around the house. You know, kind of like a dog, only without the bark.

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