Awwwwwww......

This is Snuffy's "morning face" when he's trying to convince me to stay home and brush him. He loves to be brushed, so I save a few minutes every morning to do just that. I can usually brush enough fur out of him to stuff a small pillow but he still sheds like crazy. I'm amazed he isn't bald.

He was born with a deformity and doesn't have all the proper bones in his left leg so it's much shorter than the right. He runs lopsided and when he sits he holds his paw up against his chest. When he wants something he'll come up to me and flop that little foot against my arm to get my attention. I call him my crooked kitty. Whatever is missing doesn't slow him down one bit though, and I'm pretty sure he thinks he's perfectly normal.

One day about nine years ago, my husband and I were at our veterinarian, I can't remember why now, and Snuffy who was a 6-week old foundling was at the front desk in a carrier with a note on it that said "looking for a home". We were well known for our love of animals so the staff asked if we wanted to take him home. Of course I would have loved nothing better but we already had four cats and a dog, and at the time my husband was well into his last year of an eight-year battle with Alzheimer's and so, reluctantly, I said no thanks we weren't in any position to take on another critter. (Probably the first time in my life I've ever turned down an animal in need of a home.) Without realizing what would happen and without any ulterior motive I'm sure, the receptionist happily handed the little white kitten to my husband who simply clutched it to his chest with a big smile on his face like a little kid, and the rest is history. Snuffy had a home.