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Our Friends,
Our Pals



Meet Grover and Mary, charter members of Whiskers N Paws. Grover, the grown-up cat shown here suffering the attentions of the mischievous Squeakers, came up with the idea. And as soon as Mary heard about it, she was all ears--as you can see.

Grover was found in the wilds of Puunene on Maui in the fall of 1994 by Doggie Bear, a chihuahua mix who became like a mother to the kitten. One of their favorite pastimes was to wrestle in the yard. Then one day, as these things happen, Doggie Bear disappeared.

Eventually, Grover adopted a second dog, Cookie Gordie, and they became fast friends. But things became a little crowded when Squeakers, who also answers to the name of Kitten, became a hanai member of the family. So Cookie Gordie moved in with neighbors just down the street, but still stays in touch.

Day after glorious day, Grover and Kitten would while away the time lying in the shade on the back porch, occasionally flicking an ear, listening for lizards rustling in the nearby grass.

Then one day Kitten set off on a long journey to explore the big, wide world and itty-bitty Sissy and Bubba moved in to keep Grover company with their pranks.

Mary, a year-old chihuahua-terrier, is the wanna-be boss of Waikele Park. Often accompanied by her pals, Taffy and Baxter, she keeps an eye peeled for any and all trespassers on her turf and voices her displeasure when she spots them.

Mary's unusual ears sometimes draw comments. She's been called "Radar" and "Kangaroo," and her family says that her silhouette looks just like Batman's.

But unusual looking or not, Mary's a happy creature who likes to romp with other dogs and absolutely LOVES a treat of nachos, cheese and hamburger.

GO TO THE GALLERY OF FRIENDS

June 21, 1997

George Steele
gsteele@lava.net