for the fundraiser... some of the saints animals are hosting their own table.

they won't be there in person, just in spirit. so my job is to write something for each of them to bring them more personally to each table.

sigh...i think there are about 20 tables...and despite jenn's gentle reminders asking if i have forgotten, i have been pondering about this. i don't just want to write their stories, i tell them on every tour and i write them here..and i don't want to pretend to talk for them either. sometimes i can get it spot on, but 20 animals as an actual writing assignment, becomes work and trust me..i will be faking to get thru it as fast as i can.

not very respectful to them.

jenn did suggest i write them here first tho...then i am killing two birds with one stone..i get the blog and the table animals done all at once.

anyway...i think i will pass on the whole same theme for everyone thing which is what i have been trying to come up with that won't bore me after 20 times. i think i will write about something about them that you don't know about but that i do. and while i might pick one theme for a few animals that fits...i think i will end up with several different groups of themes.

tonight i am going to write about relationships. animals have them, they do have emotional lives and any emotional creature that lives with others does develop relationships.

here we go....

Beauty and the Beast

Scrappy is a big, old, scarred up street cat. You can tell that his life was hard. He absolutely hates dogs and will attack both large and small. He is not all that great with cats either, he ignores the ones that ignore him, but if anyone wants to give him attitude, they are going to be rolling around in a full Scrappy scrap across the floor.

Lotus Flower is a sleek and shiny black teenager. She was also a street cat but she is shy and retiring. Lotus was born with a birth defect and both of her back legs are crippled. She gets around pretty well but it is certainly noticable that her back legs are deformed.

Lotus and Scrappy both came from the Chilliwack SPCA. They were kept in different areas and never did meet. They were both deemed unadoptable and needed long term sanctuary placement somewhere...SAINTS became that sanctuary for them.

A relationship was born. The beat up, tough, old, street cat and the pretty, crippled, shiny, black kitten became very good friends.

Lotus needed nuturing, and Scrappy seemed to see this. He became her favorite uncle, he takes care of her and makes sure she gets what she needs. He gives her a bath, even when she doesn't want one. i often come across them in the hallway, Scrappy holding Lotus down immobile with one very big paw while he grooms her fur and keeps it clean and shiny. Lotus is just patiently waiting for that big foot to get off of her so she can keep going to where ever she was headed before Uncle Scrappy decided she needed bathing.

They share the same bed at night, Lotus curled up into Scrappy's large and very soft belly. Scrappy really likes his food, this is why he is so big! Lotus is also allowed to share his food bowl which is off limits to everyone else. He actually will patiently wait while she eats the little bit she wants before he takes over. Unlike her uncle, Lotus has a more delicate and refined appetite.

I like to watch the two of them together. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction and pleasure to see the closeness that they feel. I know this improves the quality of their life. Each day they have a very good and trusted friend to share the quiet moments with. I think Scrappy became someone he did not know he was before. It was always deep inside him, this ability to care for and nuture, but maybe life was just too difficult for him to ever find that part of him.

Lotus was young when she reached SAINTS, barely 5 months old. She would still be feeling lost and vulnerable and probably remembering her mother and the warmth, caring, and feeling of safety that she used to give. Scrappy stepped up to once again fill that need for her.

Two homeless street cats...one too old and beat up, one too young and crippled, to find a new home. And now that they have found each other, any home that does eventually come for either, will have to have room in their hearts for both.

Scrappy and Lotus Flower are pleased to have you share their table of dreams of friendship for dinner tonight.

there you go jenn.. the first table is done....19 more to go.