KNOWING HOW TO NAP WITH STYLE

“This picture was taken looking down -- good thing she's asleep, because she would never countenance being looked down on!” —Feline Fotographer Andrew Fisher, Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief.





Welcome to the weekend edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. It’s our first Autumn 2019 edition….yeah, Autumn doesn’t get to Texas until September 23, but we think it has already arrived at Indian Lake in Denville, N.J., headquarters of the Readlarrypowell.com Eastern Seaboard Bureau. I clipped the evidence off the internet Friday as I was beginning work on this tribute to championship household snoozers.

As you can see, that cat is a real work of art. Our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief, the veteran print and broadcast journalist Andrew Fisher, captured this artistic image as his bureau cat, Chloe, created a catnapping homage to stripes and coats.
That’s Andy’s former chair. You can guess whose chair it is now.
In this edition, you’ll see photos of a handsome basic black dog, too. That’s Maxie. He and Chloe are both rescues. (They were adopted by that couple all attired for a night on the big town, New York, a suburb of Denville, to characterize loosely. That’s Annie, the veteran rescuer, with Andy, the rescued, er, the bureau chief.) 

Chloe came from 911 Dog and Cat Rescue in Morristown and Maxie was adopted from Eleventh Hour Rescue in Randolph.
Chloe was a kitten and Maxie was already grown.

Peaches, the cat with the lamp, was Chloe’s predecessor in the household.
These other two dogs? Andy tells, us, "The doggie in the snow is, in fact, the virile Husketriever Barley, the dog Annie's son Ian got from St. Hubert's with his first communion money, the dog that turned this indifferent soul into an animal nut. 
"Dear saintly Bella was a shaggy black mutt who spent about a year in the Fisher pack after capturing Annie's heart at an Eleventh Hour adoption event. Here she is dancing with the old man."
Andy explains, “Chloe came to live with us about six months after Peaches went across the Rainbow Bridge at the age of 21. Chloe had spent a summer on the streets of Morristown, according to 911 Dog and Cat Rescue, the offspring of a pair of ‘trap savvy’ parents whose kittens the rescue had taken in before. We get an idea of what life was like for a kitten on the street, because she runs and hides at the slightest rumble of thunder or passing piece of noisy machinery. 
“We were originally interested in her shelter sister Camille, but foster mom Lori Banchi told us Camille wasn't fond of dogs, and our Maxie is a dog to be reckoned with. Chloe and Maxie get along just fine, rubbing noses and putting up with an occasional slap of tail or paw. 
“Chloe's original name was June Bug -- so her full name is Chloe June Bug Mead Fisher -- but we had to add the ‘Chloe’ because ‘June Bug’ didn't convey her unmistakable elegance. 
“Annie and I got a beautiful oyster-shell picture frame as a wedding present, and we spent years trying to find a picture that conveyed a sense of elegance and presumptuousness. Chloe solved that with one shutter click. 
“The chair in the ‘Make the World Go Away’ picture used to be mine -- a birthday gift from Annie several years ago -- but Chloe seized control as soon as she saw it.
“Occasionally, she lets me use it, as long as I understand just who's in charge. This picture was taken looking down -- good thing she's asleep, because she would never countenance being looked down on! 
“I would never refer to Chloe -- and she would NEVER want to be known -- as a ‘cuddly kitty,’ but when she feels it absolutely necessary, she can be the Princess of Purr.  Last year, when I broke my ankle and had to spend lots of time off my feet, Chloe was there for me."
[LARRY ASIDE: We’ve included a photo of Chloe and Maxie’s tail — you can see the video and the tail whap by clicking HERE. Here’s a hint about happy Maxie’s tail and Chloe’s countenance: “Wag. Wag. Wag. Whap. Wag. Wag. Wag. Whap.” It's a brief video but it shows both a happy dog and a patient cat!]
Oh, that final photo of the yawning cat? It’s a holiday picture. Andy explains: “Thanksgiving before last, Annie, (son) Ian, and I went to Philadelphia to have dinner with (son) Tim and Celina and her parents. We were gone for about eight hours total. This picture was taken shortly after we returned. It was a yawn, but looking at the picture, we imagined she was asking, ‘Where the HELL were you all this time?’”

And, to show you how Maxie can sleep, that’s one of our previously published photos of the boy patiently waiting for Andy to finish a pensive moment on the deck overlooking the shores of Indian Lake. [LARRY ASIDE: Readlarrypowell. com thinks Andy’s pensive pause included a moment of gratitude for a cool dog, a cool cat and cool un-Texas temps in the summer.]
[DEAR READERS: We love to feature your slumbering critters in our weekend edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap —your critters will join more than 14 years of photos of wonderful snoozers. Email photos and bios to [email protected]. You’ll be helping people decide to open their homes to dogs and cats. And you’ll be helping insomniacs believe they, too, can get some sleep if they can just curl up artistically in their new cat-striped pajamas.]
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