trash bags that barely outweighed her own 48 pounds. Unfortunately, she had far more emotional baggage than physical possessions.

In one of the previous foster homes Shaylin had been accused of kicking a toy poodle and breaking its rib. The catalyst for this event was evidently Shaylin’s perception that the owner of the dog had been mean to her. The incident also included additional charges she attempted to poison the dog by sprinkling laundry flakes into the dog’s food. We never found out if the charges were true, but needless to say, the report caused us concern as to the safety of our own four cats. Thus Shaylin was forbidden to touch or even be near the cats.

Rajah, our tiger cat, had been our grandaughter's cat until she developed allergies, and then he came to live with us. Although aloof much of the time, Rajah missed the children he grew up with. He had evidently decided Shaylin had been with us long enough and seemed puzzled by her refusal to respond to his offers of friendship. From time to time he would walk by her and rub against her leg, a maneuver resulting in a most uncomfortable look on Shaylin’s face, as she did not know quite what to do.

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