Festus and Chai

Festus and Chai - Junkyards harbor wrecked skeletons of transportation maladies. Rusty metal giants consume acres of once pristine land, and the land is tainted by the giant's lifebloods: motor oil, gasoline, antifreeze, and hazardous liquids from the modern day engine.

One day I stopped at a local yard and saw a tiny black pit bull puppy. A little yellow cat trailed happily behind it. The kitten was only about 6-7 weeks old, very straggly, dehydrated, dirty and amazingly friendly. As I approached, a child came out of nowhere and reached down, grabbed the skinny kitten and stashed it into an 5 gallon orange bucket. I walked up to the nearest adult man, who was working on a broken engine and asked who owned the kitten. He said in broken English, that the puppy was his, and he would like shots for it and it to be "snipped." My reputation as a spay/neuter advocate had preceded me. I explained I couldn’t take the puppy now to the vet, but I could take the kitten. He gave me the orange bucket and said someone had dumped the kitten last week.

Festus was about a pound in weight, but the little guy ate like a draft horse! At the junkyard, Festus hadn’t eaten anything but tortillas, so when it was finally available, he feasted on entire cans of food. Soon, Festus discovered the water bowl and proceeded to drink its entire contents.

I had a tiny Shepherd mix puppy named Chai from the shelter kill list, and Festus and Chai became best friends. They bounded up to each another like two clumsy jousting partners—the kitten rearing onto its hind legs and the puppy running with careless abandon. For the two orphans, the game was irresistible.


Festus was placed into a home where he was an only cat. Chai, the tea colored puppy, was placed into a good home with a resident cat to keep her company.