Walmart may have official greeters, but we have check out Jasper. The twelve year-old Jasper Avent serves both as our official greeter, checkout guardian, and official tour guide. We’re sure many of you have had the chance to meet, chat, and walk the gardens with Jasper when you visited.
We had a “Jasper” but ‘he’ was a ‘she’ named Brownie who was not brown but black, except for a series of faint brown rings that ran the length of her tail. Brownie was born in in the NC mountains of Ashe Co. outside of Jefferson before joining our family in the ‘Theyland’ section of Wake Co. on the north side of Lake Wheeler just outside of Raleigh. As a kitten she was ‘bottle-fed’ when her mother died unexpectedly. Unlike many cats who are aloof, this imprinted Brownie with a strong social attachment to humans. Like Jasper, Brownie was our official greeter and ambassador of goodwill who lived her entire life within a well-defined feline ‘territory’ of approx. 25 acres. There she was a regular visitor to our neighbors where she would come and go into their homes and laps. Within this 25 acre wood the voles and rabbits trembled in fear; the squirrels were wise to keep to the tree canopy. Brownie was with us for 19 years.
I was pleased to meet Jasper during my first tour last month. I look forward to seeing him next time.
Oh, he’s beautiful! What a wonderful greeter. We are lucky for the love and company of sweet kitties. Hi Jasper!