Remembering Part I

Boo last December
Prior to August of 2004 we had no pets. I always wanted a dog. I had grown up with dogs and dogs were what I was most familiar with. Well, all that changed when someone kindly let out Boo, Ping and Jinx in our neighborhood. I knew very little about cats. It was all a learning process. It was also a gradual process of the cats becoming part of the family. I now shudder when I recall that these 3 lived outside for several weeks before they moved into the garage and subsequently into the house. In the Septemeber of 2004 we had Hurricane Jeanne come through our area, it was pretty scary stuff, the 3 cats were outside. They were protected in one of those plastic totes you buy to store stuff in. I can vividly recall going to the window and checking on them, the three of them were curled up tightly together sleeping it all away. They were in better shape than I was that night. But, now to think I didn't bring them in, I am ashamed of myself. I can't imagine allowing them outside. One of the most vivid early memories I hold of Boo dates back to that August. She was on the far side of our property which is a little over an acre and I called her for dinner, she STREAKED across the yard, and I don't believe her little paws touched the ground. I was so amazed at how fast she was. She reminded me of a cheetah from one of those nature documentaries. That vision is one I will never forget because it was so striking to watch her movements.