Upon my monthly visit to the Yurts in June, I had the good fortune to have Mags join my brother and me for a sleepover. We brought Dolly along to keep him company, show him the ropes and help calm him in a new environment.

He was scared at first, but Miss Dolly's charm worked its magic and he settled in with her on the bed.


Dolly Snuggles with Mags

As the evening progressed, he decided that we weren’t so bad and scary after all and that we gave pretty good pets! He even started to nuzzle my hand and purr.


The Mags and Dolly Train

As the night wound down, he and Dolly closed their eyes for a good night’s sleep.

Mags and Dolly Sleep

But, as anyone who has done one of these “sleepovers” knows, there is actually very little sleep going on by any of the parties included! (I’ve put in a request to change the name of these little adventures)

Mags and Dolly had a pretty good time that night tearing around the RV, chasing the mouse and hopping from bed to couch to table to counter to floor … you get the idea.

The next day when it was time for them to go back to the Finishing School, Dolly wasn’t particularly pleased about leaving the big cushy bed, but went easily into the carrier.

Mags on the other hand got really angry and let me know in no uncertain terms, yowling the entire walk back to the yurt. Once released into the playroom, he wouldn’t even give me the time of day. Since we had made such progress in our friendship during the “sleepover”, I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.

I crawled over to him, (yes, crawled), and I reached out my hand imploringly, talking sweet to him the whole time. And you know what? He forgave me and nuzzled my hand and we had a wonderful petting session.

And that’s how I choose to remember Mags, nuzzling my hand, purring, being loved unconditionally.

I will miss you sweet boy.



Opening photo courtesy of volunteer Peter Wolf

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