She also could be a quick escape artist, choosing to dart outside an open door when my back was turned to explore the back yard. That stopped after an escape a couple of weeks before Christmas one year. I thought she was long gone after four days of searching. But I heard her during a torrential downpour and found her sitting under my car, soaking wet, cold and hungry. After her mini vacation from a warm house and food, she never ventured further than the screened porch again.

She loved riding in the car, and being held and petted, and could be very possessive of me. She eventually came to like her younger half-sister, Lola, but after almost three years, never accepted her pesky little half-brother, Sebastian. Despite her sweet disposition, she had no problem putting him in his place when he persistently entered her space.

I know she was happy to see her half-sister, Tula, waiting at the bridge after four years. They were adopted the same day. I will always love my sweet girls who were such faithful companions.