I mentioned in my introduction, that Callie was a runaway and adopted me when she was about 3 years old. Her estimated age is about 9 now as I have had the pleasure of getting to know her for the past 6 years. She spotted my husband Michael, and daughter, Lara and myself, standing by the front door one morning and she decided right then and there, that we were going to take excellent care of her and she was going to stay no matter what. I have to let you know that I had put my Jack Russel Terrier down several months earlier and I was still grieving and in no mood to attend to a cat. If you survive raising a Jack Russel from puppyhood and into adulthood, and you somehow maintain an alpha status, you are smitten for life with these incredibly bright and obnoxious dogs. They take over your life and you will never be the same for having experienced it. Miss Adelaide was about the most incredible dog I have ever had the honor of raising and there wasn’t anything she was afraid of except thunder and lightening. I had always imagined that if I were to get another animal, it would be another terrier and probably another Jack Russel. So, along comes this cat and I did everything to locate her owners short of making one up. We posted notices everywhere and I sincerely hoped someone would answer my call for help in finding her, her home. She was too darn cute to be a stray but I did not want a cat. No one answered my ad and after several weeks, I decided to go ahead and recluctanly keep her. A year later, the previous owners actually stopped by one day to tell me her story. Her name was Dora, and she was incredibly difficult to raise and they were tired of her running out the door whenever a door was opened. When they noticed that she seemed happy and content with me, they decided to say something but they made it clear that they didn’t want her back. Well, Callie has proven me wrong about wanting another dog and I sometimes feel like she is trying to act like a Jack Russel Terrier. One time, two local brazen tom cats made the mistake of walking through our front door, and when I ran out to chase them away, here comes Callie in all her fury, and she doesn’t just chase them out the door, she goes after them, screaming her head off and doesn’t stop until they are a block away. The front yard boundary wasn’t nearly far enough for her. The look on her face when she charged the tom cats was priceless and when she returned to the yard, she had this little swagger and her tail was held high and she practically pranced back into the house. Needless to say, those two cats never bothered her again. Tom cats have frequently developed a crush on her and she will have nothing to do with them. You can see the look in their eyes when she saunteres by with that cute little rear -end of hers and her darling brown and black spot on her back legs leave them weak in the kness. It doesn’t matter, she can’t stand even the sight of a cat from a safe distance and finds their presence deplorable. She loves dogs though and when she is walking on her leash, dogs will come up to her and she grandly sits down and waits for them to approach with caution. Dogs seem a little stunned at seeing a cat on a leash and I always make sure to watch their body language before letting them come too close. Then they touch noses and the dogs inevitably start to do the wiggle and waggle and she silences their over enthusiastic tail wagging with one raise of a paw. They must have good manners and move with grave solemnity to stay in her presence. When the greeting is over the dogs look like they are trying to figure out what the hell just happened and Callie looks like she is holding royal court. Callie has proven me wrong about being a dog person, and now I can’t imagine life without her. She is game for any adventure as long as I appear confident and curious. She is almost a therapy cat for me when it comes to social situations. She has brought a lot of joy to my life and I will be forever grateful that I have a cat that thinks she is a dog!
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Travels with Callie 