Meet Jackson

Jackson, 8-1/2 years old

Turkish Van

6lbs

About 10" tall

Jackson is from Cortland NY, found huddled up at a store front door on Main St., and looking extremely frightened. I was on my way to a bar just a few doors down and heard her little cries. She was so dirty and roughed up that I thought she was a gray cat and not prevailing white. When I bent down to see her she came right to me and curled up underneath my body as I crouched down to pet her. At this point I already started feeling that I couldn't let this poor little cat go on without some help. She was dirty, had bugs crawling in her fur, sported several cuts on her head and mouth and was obviously malnurished because I could see just about every bone in her body.

The next thing to happen is what sealed her fate and would make her part of my life from that day forward. A drunk (possibly homeless) man came up to me as I was kneeling on the ground with the cat and was surprisingly interested in what was going on. The man appeared to be in about as good of shape as Jackson was at the time, minus the visible cuts, but also with missing teeth. He attempted to bend down himself and pet the cat as I was doing, only Jackson didn't react to this man with the same pathetic desperation as she had for me only minutes prior. The second his hand was about to touch her, she took one look at the opening of my left leg of the baggy shorts that I was wearing and proceeded to climb up as high as she could to get away from him. Without saying another word, the man just stood up and continued on his way down the street.

Jackson was now lodged up in my shorts so I couldn't even stand up yet. Once I coerced her to come back out, I scooped her up in my arm and held her up high on my chest. Looked her straight in the eye and decided right then and there that I would take her back to my apartment and take care of her.

Eight years later, Jackson has proven to be a wonderful cat and shows all of the love and affection you could possibly get from one animal, just some of the many positive traits she has shown.

W.F.D.