Royal Ranch Royalty

I have decided to introduce you to one of our critters each Sunday . I will call it Royal Ranch Royalty, as that's how they are all treated. I have very few animals that come here that do not have some kind of story, whether it be good or bad. Rescuing animals has been the hardest job that I have ever done. My family has seen a lot of heartbreak when it comes to not being able to save them all, but the rewards are enormous as you will see in this weekly series.

Today, I would like to introduce you to Shade, or as I call him "Little Buddy". Shade is a character in my children's book, Cuddly Cat, and is our resident nurse. He takes his job oh so seriously and is fantastic at it! I always know when one of the critters is not quite right as Shade will let me know. He will go out of his way to stay with whatever animal it is that is sick, even if that means a little danger under very big feet.

When my beloved Marilyn Monroe (our first Great Pyrenees) got sick and died, Shade was with us the entire time. Last year when a llama was injured during a pack trip, Shade stayed with him. After all, he did go to nursing school; he was a blood donor in vet clinics for many years before he arrived at The Royal Ranch. He is also wonderful because he gets along with everybody, when the house cats spit and slap at him, he just calmly walks away with a "what's your problem, man?" look on his face.

Shade has long black hair and intelligent green/yellow eyes that are very observant. He has a way of communicating with me that is downright uncanny. Along with his very insistent meowing, we have created a bond that needs no words, literally! People laugh when I tell them that such a spectacular cat is a barn cat, but he would have it no other way. He was strictly an outdoor cat before he lived here, but now he is too busy keeping an eye on the ranch to even want to come inside. Shade and his girlfriend (spayed and neutered, of course) live in their very own garage underneath our renters house.

It puts a smile on my face at least twice a day when I walk by that garage on my way to do chores. Before I even come around the corner, Shade pops out of his kitty door with a large "Meow", his girl close on his tail. He sneaks through the llama fence to help do the chores, and especially enjoys feeding the chickens (I'm not sure if the chickens enjoy it though!). He calmly waits for me to finish so that we can have our "Cuddly Cat" time, which is how I got this picture. It's hard to take a good pic of something that is always wrapped around me. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful cat in my life!!

Have a miracle of a Day!