Forever Home

Once upon a time there lived a cat named Pooh Barron. He didn't know his family and he didn't have a home but he had a good friend in a tiefling with a pet shop and a bed and food for him whenever he needed.
Many times Pooh was adopted and returned to the pet shop. The other pets didn't like him or he scratched the couch a bit too much, or he cried too loud in the middle of the night. And in the end - he always ended up back in the familiar little blue bed eating fish crackers and purring himself to sleep.
Then came a very cold winter. The snow was blocking doorways and big shiny icicles hang on wires and tree branches sneakily tempting curious little critters to try and lick them. The birds were forming big flocks and flying away, leaving the town quiet and lonely. In his little warm bed Pooh sat and watched them go through the window wondering "Is there someone to yell at them and return them for spring?" and " If they have a home why are they leaving?"

It was the day before Christmas when a smiling woman came in the pet shop. That's what Pooh noticed first - how big her smile was and how she smelled like the delicious small cakes the tiefling would treat him with every once in a while. The woman talked for a bit with the shopkeeper, then looked around and her eyes stopped on the little fluffy ball in the little blue bed that was Barron. And before he knew it he was being held by the woman in a warm hug.
As soon as she brought him to her home she introduced him to the family's other pets: there was Lea, a Siamese cat with her little ball of joy Bartolomew; there was the older Persian Monty and a big scary-looking dog called Bran. Knowing he'd probably be returning to the shop soon, Pooh just hid in a corner under the stairs and didn't answer any of their questions. He didn't drink the milk the woman left for him and fell asleep hungry and sad.

In the middle of the night Pooh Barron woke up and snuck out to go back to his tiefling friend, on his own. Slowly but certainly he found the way and when she opened the doors at dawn she heard him scratching outside and let him in. But something strange happened later that day: the woman returned and this time with her was a smaller human with a hat the same color as Pooh's bed. They talked to the owner and she handed him back - this time giving them his bed and favorite toy too.

Later that evening there was a lot of delicious things and Pooh finally couldn't resist and tried them. That evening he looked at the humans laughing and having fun together and then at Bartolomew jumping from Bran's to Monty's head and back and Lea scolding him...and that's when he realized something. There was a little warmth in his fluffy chest. A little voice tickled the tip of his ears and when he fell asleep that night, in his old blue bed, right next to the warm fireplace, he knew: he had found a forever home.

Source: Pexels; Mateo Franciosi

In history

Pooh Barron is the cat of the Bellis family - one of the biggest creators of pet treats in the town of Rockdoors. The story of how he got to them as a fluffy little thing was turned into a children's tale to teach the lesson of "never give up hope, keep on searching and eventually you'll get what you're looking for". 

Lea, Monty, Bartolomew and Bran still live with the family to this day and are the first taste-testers for all their creations. Pooh Barron however was the one who became the signature face on the "Bellis tricks & treats" products and will forever be known with his blue scarf with a sheriff star on it and a silver bell on his tail.

Cover image source:  Pexels; Galaxii Starr, Wellington Silva