Buford Adopts a Kitty - Part 4

Visit Parts 1 & 2 and Part 3.

(Click the comic strip to view larger.)

When first planning to adopt a pet, our suggestion is to snag plenty of allergy medicines to begin with.  There are generic medications that keep you from spending all that extra money that you'll need for vet bills and getting holistic pet food.

The second step to the planning is finding where to get the pet.

In our case, Casper wandered into the driveway before a storm as a kitten, and I suckered myself into keeping him.  Wendy was in the middle of the road as a kitten, and she suckered me into keeping her.  Bebe was one of 9 puppies born under the abandoned house next door, and when we took "all" of them to a foster farm, she hid in my house and I got attached/suckered into keeping her.

But, your case may be different.  Consider the pound, consider animal shelters.  There are good animals there that need a Forever Home and love.  You don't have to purchase a full-breed animal to get a good pet, and sometimes rescued animals are not only the best pet, but also they are the pet that gives you the best, appreciative love!

You can also check with your local vet's office as they sometimes have good advice on getting a pet and where to go.

Remember, getting a pet is not a short-term act.  These are called Forever Homes for a reason: when you get a pet, you also get responsibility.  Feeding, cleaning, playing, exercise, activity...there are many jobs in taking care of your pet, and the attention required is exorbitant!  Also, you can have a pet at home, but that pet at home can also be abandoned--don't be that person!

Don't leave them outdoors chained up with no attention, don't leave them without plenty of water and food, don't leave them out in the cold, don't leave them locked up in a small room, don't leave them to their own devices.

Pets need a boss.  Not the "Hitler" kind of boss, but the kind of boss that cares about them and wants everything that is happening and that is going to happen to be a happy outcome for the critters.

So, this post reminds you of the responsibility in providing a Forever Home to an animal.  And reminds you to get allergy meds.

Up next, part 5.

Buford Adopts a Kitty - Part 3

(Click comic strip to see it larger.)

You can see Parts 1 & 2 by clicking here.

As I mentioned before, I like to take items from my real life and add them to the comic strips for Muley the Mule and Friends. 


When we perform puppets, I assist Muley; but, Martheus Wade assists Buford the Dog and Janet Wade assists Missy Mule.  Now, while I adopted Wendy that inspired this series, Martheus and Janet adopted a black cat which they named Black Cat, who had a kitten that was named Black Kitty

So, when it came time for Buford to name his kitten, I thought, "What better play on real life than to borrow from his live-show assistant."  So, Buford names his cat Kitty since it's a kitten.

The Wades with the original Kitty.

Hope the story is moving along fun for you!

Here comes part 4!

 

Buford Adopts a Kitty - Parts 1 & 2

(Click the comic strips to see them bigger.)

I have mentioned before that most of the things I write for puppets or comic strips have a basis on my real life.   In this series of strips, Buford the Dog adopts a kitten.

The story begins with Zombie Walk and my buddy, DaMarco Randle, also the supplier of the photos to follow.

DaMarco is the clown in the middle...

 A few years ago, after Zombie Walk was over, I traveled home on Danny Thomas Blvd in Memphis with my buddy DaMarco Randle, when he, in the passenger seat, began hitting the invisible passenger-side brakes yelling, “CAT IN THE ROAD! CAT IN THE ROAD! Didn’t you see the cat in the road?”

“What?”  I asked, hoping I didn’t hit anything.  “Where?”

“There was a kitten in the road!” he exclaimed.

“Living or dead?”

“Living!”

I was certain that it was up to fate to handle the life of that kitten.  I didn’t put it there, and it wasn’t my responsibility. 

But, I’m an old softie and as I thought about it I began to realize that I can’t just leave a kitten on side of the road, so I did a huge, illegal U-Turn in the middle of Danny Thomas Blvd, aka Hwy 61, and crossed back over the bridge.  From within the deep grasses across the street I hear “Meow! Meow!”  This poor kitten screaming and hollering.  My initial thought:  I hurt it! 

I whipped the vehicle around again and stopped by the side of the road where DaMarco lured the kitten to him and into the vehicle.  All the way home, this kitten kept looking at me.  I didn’t want to make eye contact with it because I just knew what would happen.

We got her home, watered her, fed her, washed her, and while she dried I left her in the towel, holding her to my chest to keep her warm.  I looked down at those big eyes a few times, and shouldn’t have, though I could still resist.

But, she pulled the winning card.

Purring, this kitten began to crawl out of the towel, up to my chin, rub against it, and I sank into the couch.

“You’re keeping her, aren’t you?” DaMarco asked as I sank.

“Yup.”

One cat had already been a rescue, and his name is Casper*.  After the ghost.  So, of course, you have to partner that name up with the good little witch, Wendy.

That being said, you know the real story; but, here is how it happens in the MuleyVerse.  Let’s see what happens when Buford finds a kitten lost in the wild over the next few weeks.

This is the first kitten sketch planned for the strips.

*The first pet to rescue was a male cat now named Casper.  He wandered into my driveway just before a storm and was brought in to keep the kitten from suffering through the storm.  I was playing with him and accidentally named him.  When you name it, you have to keep it.  Which is why I never name people or kids.

Wendy was the second rescue.  The third rescue would be a dog.  DaMarco named her and her sister that looked just like her:  Bebe and Cece.  We kept Bebe.  I wanted to name her Princess, so her name is Princess Bebe, but we just call her Bebe.  I guess it was a better name than Aeae.

Enjoy these stories!