Written by Janet Hazen
Photographs by David Hazen
Calvary Church, United Methodist in Arlington continues to proudly assist Animal Umbrella in its mission to give cats, and through them, people, a more blessed life.
My husband Dave and I began attending the Animal Umbrella adoption events and flea markets several years ago when we were still dating. Although we still weren’t able to adopt, we loved coming to pet the cats, give them treats, and take photos of them. We also were thrilled to see many of them go home with their new families. As time went on, I retired from the corporate world, Dave and I got engaged and married, we lost a number of loved ones, including Dave’s mom and my dad, and very slowly continued to merge our two households into one. Finally at the cat adoption this June, we were able to tell Annamarie Taylor, the shelter director, that we’d be ready to adopt a kitty or two once the summer was over. She instinctively knew that two of the cats there, Adrianna and Dale, would be perfect match for us and told us they’d keep them for us until the fall. They needed extra love because Adrianna had lost one of her legs many years earlier, before she came to the shelter, and Dale has impaired vision. We didn’t get to spend much time bonding with them that day, because Calvary Church was holding a Blessing of the Animals service that same afternoon and we had to get ready for that. (Reverend Christine blessed all of the Animal Umbrella cats at that event, as well as all of the other pets that came with their owners!)
At last September came and we expected that our two cats were ready to go home with us.
Annamarie greeted us and said, “Well, I wanted to talk to both of you about it,” and we thought that maybe Dale and Adrianna weren’t coming with us after all, but she soon added that she had a third cat, Fluffy, who was a senior male who needed a quiet, peaceful home as other male cats at the shelter had bullied him. She knew that Dale and Adrianna would be kind to Fluffy, though, and we began to seriously consider her proposal that we adopt Fluffy too.
“These two are taken!” I gleefully informed each prospective cat owner when they approached Dale and Adrianna in their cage.
Then, someone else at the adoption showed interest in adopting Fluffy, in addition to Britney, a sweet girl cat that they had already chosen to bring home with them. Annamarie knew what to do next! She could tell that Dave and I had opened our minds to bringing home company for Adrianna and Dale. She had also noticed that since the adoption event started, Dale had been spending a lot of time gazing in the direction of another cage across the aisle.
“These two are taken!” I gleefully informed each prospective cat owner when they approached Dale and Adrianna in their cage.
Then, someone else at the adoption showed interest in adopting Fluffy, in addition to Britney, a sweet girl cat that they had already chosen to bring home with them. Annamarie knew what to do next! She could tell that Dave and I had opened our minds to bringing home company for Adrianna and Dale. She had also noticed that since the adoption event started, Dale had been spending a lot of time gazing in the direction of another cage across the aisle.
“Dale is worried about them. Those were her kittens,” Annamarie revealed to us, pointing to the cage containing Taco, a beautiful orange and white cat, and Cocoa, who had dilute calico brown and grey fur like her mother. “Maybe, if you could take the four, then the family could be together.”
“Four?” Dave and I asked each other in disbelief. We tried to convince ourselves that we would be able to care for four cats when we were prepared for just two. Then Fluffy’s prospective new owners came to their decision: they could only take one cat, Britney. Suddenly Fluffy was available again. Which cats would we adopt now?
Annamarie offered the answer: she would take Fluffy home to her house until the next adoption, and we would take Taco and Cocoa with their mama, Dale, and Adrianna. So, Dave went home with his new harem (one wife and 4 cats) and we lived happily ever after!
In November, there was another adoption at Calvary. Alexx Wood, our lay leader, had fallen in love back in September with Ernie “the praying cat,” who likes to put his paws in a prayerful pose. But she hadn’t been sure if her other cats would tolerate a newcomer. But Ernie’s “calling” was irresistible. Alexx adopted Ernie in November and now has a happy home right next door to the church ! His prayers have truly been answered!
God has indeed richly blessed all of us: Animal Umbrella knows it has saved several wonderful cats and given them the homes they deserve, and the cats and their owners share in the wonderful bond between kitties and caring humans.
- Cat adoption event at Calvary Church, UMC: Janet bonds with Dale’s daughters, Taco and Cocoa. Fellow Calvary members Alexx Wood and Reverend Christine Elliott