I
My First Puppy
Written By J. Chris Mickartz
30
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JULY/AUGUST 2017
’ve always thought of myself as
a cat person. Cats are easy. They
pretty much mind their own
business and you can leave them
for a few days with water, food and cat
box and they’re good. I suppose I just
liked the non-commitment they afforded.
Although there were dogs in and out
of my life, I just didn’t seem to be able
to connect. I didn’t dislike them, but I
wasn’t impressed either.
Then came Charlie. But before I
tell you about Charlie, let me tell you
how we arrived at him. Ten years ago,
my husband Larry, the proud owner
of a yellow lab named Buck and me,
the proud owner of a tabby cat named
Boo — both of which the opposite of us
wasn’t too attached — found ourselves
alone; petless. I remember the day quite
vividly. We called our vet friend, Dr.
Greg Martinez and explained that both
Buck and Boo, who were both about 14
years old, were not doing so well. He
stopped by and looked them over and
then gave us the verdict. Boo’s organs
were shutting down and poor Buck,
although he might have a week or so left,
would be in much pain for the duration
of his life. So I mourned for Boo and
Larry mourned for Buck, together.
A year later, petless was starting to
feel a little lonely. Although I knew we
both missed our beloved pets, I just
wasn’t ready to tackle having a dog,
especially a big dog, which was Larry’s
preference. But, I really wanted a cat.
Larry was understanding. So, off to the
shelter we went. I wanted a tabby;
pr eferably an orange tabby but definitely
a tabby.
Picking out a kitten from the sea
of kittens at the shelter proved to be
overwhelming. So, when Anna, who
was taking photos of the kittens for
the shelter’s website, asked us if we
would like to see two kittens —one a
tabby— she had bottle raised, we said
sure. I immediately fell in love with the
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