I went to the humane society that morning-August 7, 1998- with one plan: find and adopt a fluffy grey kitten. When we got to the shelter and passed through screening to look at the animals, the adoption counselor took us to the kitten room where there was the tiniest grey ball of fluff and I was sure it was mine! The adoption counselor assured me that he could be mine but she just wanted me to come meet an older kitten in the next room.
In 20-year old know-it-all fashion I marched along muttering to myself that it didn’t matter what was in the other room. I already found my kitten and this was a waste of time. I was deep in my impatience when she handed me a black kitten. This kitten was all legs and her tail was too long and her ears were too big. She was long and lean and sleek and I was not impressed. The counselor explained that she (Egypt as the shelter called her) and her brother were all that were left from a litter of 5 that someone found under the bushes in their backyard. She was about 5 months old and had been in the shelter for over 3 months. I listened intently but was still unimpressed.
I stood there with this kitten’s butt in one hand and the other hand curled around her long body with her little paws on my chest. She started to chew on the pendant necklace I was wearing and I could feel her whiskers (they were too long too!) brush my chest. I looked down at her. She looked back up at me with the most intense gaze. It was like she was looking straight into my soul. I looked up and stammered “she’s mine. I’ll take her.” I didn’t know it then, but I had found my soulmate.
What an amazing 19 years we had together. I said goodbye to my Jetta on July 27, 2017. I’d have given anything in the world to have another 19 years with her. But, thanks to Genetic Preservation through Viagen Pets, someday (soon!!) I will have Jetta’s twin to help fill the void that Jetta’s passing has left. In the days leading up to saying goodbye to Jetta, I had comfort knowing that a small part of her would live on through her cell cultures. The Viagen Pets staff and Codi in particular, were absolutely great to work with and I’m confident that when I’m ready to move forward with cloning, it too will be a great experience.