[Leica] A Feel-Good Story

[jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols)]

Back in January, I posted a couple of images of a beautiful cat that was a 
frequent visitor to my back yard on sunny days, enjoying the sunshine and 
making himself right at home.  When I tried to approach him, he was 
reluctant to let me get close.  Finally, I enticed him close enough to let 
me scratch his ears, and he consented to allow me to take a few photos.

After a few weeks, he showed up less and less frequently, and my wife and I 
worried about him.  Yesterday, the puzzle was solved.

My neighbor, whose back yard adjoins mine, separated by a screen of holly 
trees, came over to announce that, if I saw a cat in my yard, it was 
probably his.  He went on to tell me how it came about.  When they moved 
into the house a number of years ago, one member of the family was a very 
pampered family dog. It seems that, in January, the dog had come down with 
an incurable condition and passed away.  While my neighbor was sitting 
outside wondering about replacing the pet, he felt something brush up 
against him, and it was the wandering cat, in need of a home.

To make a long story short, the cat has adopted the family, has the run of 
the house, and is pampered like the dog was previously.  He has been to the 
vet, been "fixed", has all of his shots, and is making a childless couple 
very happy.

I emailed copies of two cat photos to my neighbor last night, and, this 
morning he told me he had sent the photos to cat-loving friends and 
aquaintances around the world.  How did we exist before the Internet?

Here is the earlier link, for those who don't recall the photo:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Reworked+Visitor.tif.html

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA