SUKI -- CLAIMING A FORMERLY EMPTY BOX...

You may have a lot of empty boxes around your house this weekend. Empty, but, perhaps, spoken for, right?
So, we think it is very appropriate that we have selected this photo of Suki in a box for this edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap. 
December 26 is "Boxing Day." We cannot prove that cats were not involved in creating the holiday. But the traditionally accepted story is that Boxing Day is the post-Christmas gifting, shopping and sports day in Great Britain and Commonwealth nations, i.e., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, et al.
And, there's Suki in a box. This was taken a few days ago and posted by our musical pal Mary Radspinner of Houston with the title "Cats and Boxes." Indeed, anybody who has cohabitated with a cat knows an open box is a cat magnet.
Mary, from whom I once bought a harp over the phone for my musicalspouse Martha, is affiliated with Melody's Traditional Music in Houston. (From my desk in Dallas, I got Mary in Houston to play a selection of folk harps while I listened and she helped me pick the one with the most beautiful sound -- it was perfect and Martha still plays it.)
Mary, as you may suspect, is a magnificent harpist and teacher. She's the real musical deal. And she's an animal fan, too.
 So, why is Suki napping in that box?

Mary explained, "That was an Alfred Music Company box - I had just received a small shipment of piano books just in time for a lesson, and quickly extracted the contents. She immediately replaced the contents -- cannot have an empty box -- Nooooo."
Who is Suki? Mary says, "She is a rescue from Wisconsin. Her favorite thing is to 'observe' (interrupt) harp and piano lessons. She loves children. But is terrified of dogs. She is the top dog here at the house. If I get up from a chair, she takes my place. Without conscience."

Life wasn't always an easy day of being charming Suki. "She came with no claws -- back or front," Mary explains. "And she has no teeth due to stomatitis. I was having a hard time affording the surgery, so my sister paid for most of it. My sister has died since then, and so I thank her for saving Suki. Suki's mouth was horribly swollen and bloody and smelly from the stomatitis, so the surgery was necessary. Despite having no defense, she still is the top dog in the house. We just make sure she never gets outside. She likes bags, too."

There's Suki in the bottom of that container. Readlarrypowell.com is convinced she is telling a feline colleague about the importance of timing and the surprise element when someone decides to, of course, let the cat out of the bag.
[SEND PHOTO AND BIOS of your slumbering companion animals or wildlife that shows up on your porch to dallrp@aol.com and we'll post their photos and stories in our long-running weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Remember, you may be helping someone decide to adopt a friend and, for certain, you'll be helping insomniacs think they, too, can get some sleep if they can just find a one-size-fits-all cardboard box.]
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