Gus and Michelle Ledesma: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“I have been fostering with Furry Friends for the past year,” Michelle says. “When I worked at the Humane Society, I fostered hospice seniors. To say it was my thing is putting it mildly.

“In fact, I’ve fostered more than 700 kittens over the last 8 years! But the senior cats are truly the ones who keep my heart full. One day, when I was taking my current foster kittens to the shelter for their shots, I asked Jen about seniors. She promptly pointed to a kennel and told me that he had just come in. There he was! This big boy looked right into my soul and said, ‘Let’s go.’

“Because I didn’t have an extra kennel for him, Jen said that she had one, although she worried that it might be too large. I brought him home that day and named him Gus after my grandfather, but I call him Gussy most of the time.

“We put up his ‘mansion’ where, for the first few days, he decompressed. Then he was ready to be out and about. He now rules the entire downstairs. Fat and happy, Gussy, who likes his food and his treats, weighs almost 20 pounds. He enjoys looking out the window at the birds, and wherever I am, so is he.

“Sometimes he acts like a crabby old man and tries to bite me. We’re currently working on that behavior. He is my heart and soul. I love that I can be a part of his older years, to show him that not everyone is bad, and that most people are kind. He has helped me heal in more ways than one, and is truly my buddy.

“Thank you, Furry Friends.”  

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.