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Dalton
Roberts |
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Former Chattanoogan Kitten Jones is completely devoted to animal rescue work. Many times she has driven hundreds of miles to rescue abused, abandoned and neglected dogs and cats. I have never felt called to such extraordinary efforts but I do believe it is a calling to her. That which moves you so deeply that you devote yourself to it with all of your heart must surely be a person’s calling. I do know the incredibly healthy power of a dog to a child or a senior. When I see a child receive the gift of a dog, I know they are going to learn how to love. Brownie was my first dog. He was a “Heinz 57” with no bloodline showing through. Just a skinny little white dog with big brown spots but he was a bouncing ball of love and he deepened the level of love in my heart. His hormonal level must have been something else. He frequently went romancing and always came home with his ears chewed half off. He never realized he was not as big and tough as the other dogs. I do not have a dog or cat right now but I always keep a couple of cans of dog and cat food in my pantry in case a homeless stray makes it to my door. I simply will not turn a hungry animal away. People say, “Oh, but if I feed one I can’t get rid of it.” That is not always true. One day when I was working in my garden a big yellow cat who had apparently been locked up and half-starved walked up meowing for food. You could see every rib. I fed him two cans and I never saw him again. If a stray stays with me, I keep feeding it until I can find it a home. So far I have been able to do that and some of my cases were pitiful. Like a cat with a broken leg. The vet told me its leg would have to be re-broken and she did not recommend that. It was a homely little critter but extremely loving. My vet found a recently divorced man to take her and after a few weeks I started missing her. I asked the vet to see if the man still wanted her and she said, “Yes, he will not part with her.” I have made myself be contented with the brief time I got to enjoy her. It is real strange how a little ugly bundle of love can walk right in your heart, curl up in a chair, and make herself at home. My favorite dog was Honey, a brown dachshund. I hesitate to call her a dog because she was so intelligent. I had just gotten married and knew my wife had a housedog. I told her I didn’t want one so she left Honey with her stepfather. One night I went to his home to watch a ballgame and felt something on my boot. I looked down and it was Honey. She had her head laying across me boot and was looking up at me with those big, brown eyes. I shook her loose and in a few minutes she got up on the couch and laid her head in my lap, looking up at me again with those gorgeous brown eyes. By the time the game was over, that old gal had stolen my heart. I said, “Come on, Honey, I want you to go home with us.” She immediately walked to the door and waited with a look of “mission accomplished.” Every day around 3:00 I would bake a cup or two of pumpkin seeds sprayed with Bragg’s Aminos. She loved those things. I could tell it was 3:00 when she came for her pumpkin seeds. She died at 22. I haven’t eaten a pumpkin seed since. They don’t taste right without my Honey.
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