The story of Dickie Randall as told by his mom.
Dickie Randall was a favored cat of my husband, Mike
and myself. The first time I saw him was on an October evening in 1995. He
ran across the street, in front of our car. Our headlights reflected off
his eyes because as he was running, he looked directly at us. I probably
knew at that moment, he would end up with me. The next day, I checked out
the neighborhood where I had seen him. A neighbor from across the street
from where he lived told me "That black cat is left outside, on his own for
days at a time because the owners of the house are often gone." Basically,
he was left to fend for himself. For the next week, I brought food to him
and we became friends. I also confirmed that he was on his own for long periods
of time. One night, about a week after I first spied him, I abducted him
to have him neutered at my vets. After he was neutered, I planned to return
him to the place he was staying. But when I brought him back to my home from
the vets, he was so happy spending the night with us, I decided I couldn't
return him to his neglected situation. I managed to locate his owner and
told her that I had her cat and I wanted to keep him. She really didn't care.
I think she was glad to be rid of him.
Dickie was a such a sweet and wonderful cat and my
husband and I lavished him with the love and attention that he so sorely
needed. He received his name shortly after we had him. We were watching an
old English movie and Rex Harrison was playing a character named Dickie Randall.
Mike and I both thought this was the perfect name for our new feline. Other
than being very friendly with Mike and myself, Dickie was quite timid around
other people and animals. He would sit on top of a table or chair and swipe
at my other cats from above pretending he was brave but he knew he was a
true scaredy cat. |