The End Of The Innocence!

“Hi, Kinky,” I said. “Would it be okay for Tony and me to come over there for a minute?”

“Sure, Nance. Come on over.”

At 12:14, just as Tony and I were walking out the front door, the phone rang and I let the answering machine do its job. “Nancy, This is Garnett. Sandy and I want to adopt Red Sky. Call me.”

I set my camera and the Buddha Dog down on the breakfast bar, and then I called Garnett. After a brief visit with her—I hung up the phone. Red Sky had officially been adopted, and he will be going to his new home, in just a few days! And, I know that Red Sky is going to fall in love with Garnett, and her husband, Sandy—the minute that he meets them! They are great people.

I was running late, so I grabbed my camera and the Buddha Dog, and then Tony and I drove over to the Lodge to see Kinky. As soon as we arrived, I handed the Buddha Dog to Kinky, and then told him the entire story of the Buddha Dog.

When I was through telling him the epic story, Kinky smiled, and then offered the Buddha Dog back to me. “Here Nance, you can keep it,” Kinky said.

“No, Kinky. Thank you, that is awfully nice of you, but I am fine about it, because I bought two Buddha Pugs this morning, and they will be arriving very soon. Keep it—it’s yours, from Nancy Lemon. Can I take a picture of you holding it, for my blog?”

“Sure,” Kinky said. “Let me get my hat.” Kinky left the kitchen, went into his bedroom, and then returned wearing his cowboy hat. “Let’s take it outside.” The two of us, followed Kinky outside, to the Friedman Family Bone Orchard. “Nance, I need your help as to where to put my Buddha Dog.”

“Okay,” I said. “One, two, three.” Snap! “Thanks, Kinky.”

Kinky first placed the precious Buddha Dog near the Eternal Squirrel, none of us really cared for the spot. After a couple of more placements—the Buddha Dog had finally found his home, and we loved it! It was a perfect location.


Then the three of us visited in the chairs, near the Bone Orchard for about an hour. When it was time for Tony and I to leave, Kinky and Gooie walked with us, outside the Lodge. Just as we came around the corner of the Lodge—it happened! And, it happened way too fast for me!

A little kitten, about the size of a small squirrel, about twenty feet away from us, suddenly ran out of the Annex’s flowerbed—headed for a nearby tree. Goo saw it, and took off for it! “No Gooie! Stop!” Kinky screamed, as he and Tony ran to try to save the poor little kitten, that Mr. Magoo had caught in his mouth, and was now trying to kill it! Horrors!

It was over, as fast as it had happened. “Get out of here Mr. Magoo, you bad dog,” Kinky scolded. Gooie understood his words, and quickly vanished.

“Is it dead?” I asked.

“No,” Kinky said, holding the terrified kitten. “I don’t think he’s hurt. Let’s go into the Lodge and check him out.”

When we got into the kitchen, Kinky quickly closed it off, so The Friedmans would not be able to hurt or scare the frightened kitten. Then he handed me the kitten, which I quickly handed off to Tony, because it was scratching and biting me! Tony then put it down on the kitchen table.

Kinky then opened up a can of chicken, and put it on a plate, and set it down on the kitchen table, and then stood back. The kitten was more hungry, than it was scared, and it pounced on its gourmet meal! While the starving kitten devoured its Friedman Sunday dinner, we discussed what we should do with the kitten.

By the time the kitten had eaten half of its meal, it was decided that tomorrow morning, I would take it to Hoegemeyer’s for a check up, and shots. And then, I would ask them to put the pretty kitten in a crate, in their lobby—so it could be adopted quickly. Then the kitten quit eating.

We took turns talking to the little kitten, telling him that everything was going to be okay and that he was safe. The kitten seemed to listen. At one point, Tony tapped his finger on the kitchen table, and the kitten came to him. As Tony spoke softly to it and began petting it, the little one started purring—it trusted Tony! Kinky and I were grinning from ear to ear, as we watched Tony and the kitten interact. “We need to give it a great name, Nance, so it will get adopted fast,” Kinky said.

“Kinky,” I said. “I think it should be named Kinky. You saved its life. It needs to be Kinky.”

“It’s a boy,” Tony said, as he and the kitten continued to play on the kitchen table.”

“Good,” Kinky said. “His name is Kinky. I like it.”

“Me, too,” Tony said. “I think we should take Kinky over to Nancy’s cabin, and let him stay in there until tomorrow morning. I need to go over to the rescue ranch to get a crate, and to turn on the air conditioners in the cabin. I’ll be right back.” Tony left the Lodge. Kinky and I stayed in the kitchen—watching the kitten tackle the last half of his meal.

When Tony returned with a small purple crate, Kinky had cleaned his plate, and was licking his paws. I was dreading crating the kitten, knowing it would scare and upset him, so I picked up the crate from the floor, and set it on the kitchen table, hoping that it would be less scary for it to go inside.

“Watch this,” Tony said, as he tapped the table, near the crate’s opening. Kinky and I watched. Tony tapped the table, again, and little Kinky walked towards the crate, and then he calmly walked inside it. No fuss at all! Tony then gently closed the door. Still no fuss. Tony and I then left the Lodge and drove home, without one sound coming from the crate.

When we were inside the cabin, Tony opened the door of the crate, and then he left. Within thirty seconds, Kinky walked out of his crate, and began exploring my cabin. When Tony returned with a bowl of water, a dish of Lucky’s cat food, and a small litterbox—Kinky ran to him—to get petted!

After playing with the kitten, we decided that it would be best to leave, so Kinky could rest after his eventful day of starving, nearly being killed, treated to a Kinky gourmet meal, being crated, riding in a car, and winding up in an air conditioned cabin, full of stuffed animals and big wooden-carved bears guarding its doors.

As I finish writing this, Lucky, my cat is asleep next to my laptop and purring, and Bruce Hornsby is singing, “The End of the Innocence.” How perfect.

P.S. I will write about my near death cow experience soon. I promise. Enough near death experiences, today.