In Memory of Paco

Paco is now buried in my back yard, along with another cat-Screech and two rats.  I have to say that I never chose Paco.  He chose me.  Everyone at the shelter thought of Paco as 'my' cat.  It is funny how that all started.

First off, I am allergic to cats.  (And I work at a shelter full of them.)  So when I started working at the SPCA in 1999, there were four house cats already and then we added Paco.  There were some difficulties to having a house cat at the SPCA. But for the most part, everyone enjoyed seeing them lounging around, sitting on the counters, and teasing the dogs.

Paco was especially popular because he was so friendly and BIG.  He had a huge fluffy tail and long, soft fur.  And he would purr loudly when you pet him.  Children would chase after him so they could pet him or pick him up and he got to a point that when a child was nearby he would walk the other way. 

For some reason, known only to cats, they find their human.  Ask anyone who has taken in a stray cat.  They have a sense about those things.  So Paco chose me.  He would sit on my desk and nudge my hand so that I would pet him or brush him and he would not stop until he was satisfied.  I will miss him but I will have lots of fond memories.