An Animal Control Officer (ACO) for the Town of Montgomery, I’ve dealt with a myriad of animal situations over 20-plus years.

Some stand out more than others, especially in the feline community. Cats are a nation unto themselves, beautiful, brutal, and otherwise. Dudley, known to his friends as Do Right, was neither beautiful nor brutal. There wasn’t a mean claw in his paws. And when I met him, his beauty was diminished, only to be replenished by something of the highest order. He was “otherwise.” His kindness knew no bounds.

When Allion Kay first called me about his situation, I admit and regret I was a bit callous. “Oh no! Not another one!”

She was right though. To know him is to love him. Dudley tested positive for FIY. Other cats would pick on him and he endured it. I’ve had other cats with his sickness and while the physical condition declines, some kind of inspirational epiphany soars and he took me along for the ride.

He was with me for three glorious weeks at which time I threw the kitchen sink at him to save him.

During that time, he connected with an unreachable, reclusive cat also picked on, by simply sitting next to her. Such was his power, the power of his love. Tom Hanks said to Madonna in “A League of their Own,” “there’s no crying in baseball.” Well, in animal control, there’s no crying either. When Dudley died in my arms, I cried.

And so I ushered him into the League of Extraordinary Pussy Cats, along with the special few.