Well, years kicked by and a tiny black orphan showed up under the barn. Small, scared, and hungry, Miss Kitty took my heart: the same way with Major Tom. He popped up on a cold snowy day about a year ago, one year old and fresh off the battlefield. Thomas cost me money from the second I saw him. I hope he won because I’m the one who footed the seven-hundred-dollar bill to fix up his infected jaw wound. All is well now; he is in and out ground control and Kitty rules the house. Yea, I’m a cat man, and a dog man, and that is alright with me. What the heck, those critters needed me and Linda to keep them entertained.

 THOMAS AND KITTY

Tom: a thousand-dollar rescue, worth every penny,

Dog friends trample on him, sense they haven’t any.

In sunshine they lay around, soaking up the heat,

Tom clears out at supper, avoids twelve clumsy feet.

Revolving door for Thomas, comes and goes at will,

Outside latrine duty, his throne upon a hill.

My truck becomes his fortress as dogs are held at bay,

Till they forget about him, running off to play.

Back to play with Kitty, black waif who stays within,

Till both wear down and sleep, so they can tear again.

Climbs to my lap in evening, butts me on my jaw,

Reminds me he’s my bud, beats all I ever saw.

Never cared for cats, especially in the house,

Now we’ve two, one good thing, there never is a mouse.

Streak ‘cross floors, snoozers on beds, cuddling in a chair,

Quite fill our home up, feels empty when they’re not there.