RASCAL *red
mactabby folded-ear male
WILLIE *black smoke & white straight-ear
male
Their early days:
The red boy we nicknamed Little Nuisance because he looked like a miniature
version of his father, except that dad did not have folded ears. The black
& white boy, whom we called Willie, loved to play with a little bottom-weighted
black & white penguin that we've had for years and affectionately called
Chilly Willy.
Little Nuisance (now named Rascal) was the leader of this duo. He wanted to play all day, but his mom, Caileigh, insisted on his twice-daily bath. He squirmed and wiggled, but mom would simply raise her larger paw on top of this little dynamo as if to say, "Son, there are priorities in life, and one on the top of the list is cleanliness. So hold still or I'll cuff you or bite your bum." And she'd proceed to lick him all over and by the time she was done, he would be snuggled up to her, alternately suckling and sleeping.
Willy would sit back and watch the activity around him, and see how all these games are played. He would see everyone oohhing and aahhing over his brother's folded ears. "So," he thought, "how can I get people to love me, because I only have ordinary, straight ears." So, in his quiet contemplative manner, gentle and soft-spoken, not given to wild outbursts of frenetic activity, he was content to sit beside us, with his round expressive eyes conveying his need to be loved, and, just as important, to give love, as if part of his role in life was to teach his humans that what you look like on the outside -- whether show quality or not -- is not as important as what's in the heart. And, this little fellow has a great big heart.
Letter from Rascal & Willie's humans, Lucy, Gordon & kids
Page updated on February 2, 2002