SOLO’s Animal Staff

 While SOLO does not allow students to bring their pets to courses, and, in general, discourages staff from bringing their pets with them to work, we have made exceptions from time-to-time.  We have also had to employ a professional feline staff to keep the rodent population in check. Here follows a brief history of both feline and canine members of our community:
            In the beginning, there were Frippin, Chamois, and Kaila. Although Frippin and Chamois were not technically SOLO Cats, they lived with Lee and  Frank.  Since several of the original courses were taught out of the cottage on Tasker Hill where Lee and Frank lived, these cats were, by default, SOLO Cats. Kaila, on the other hand, was the original SOLO wolf-hybrid and was a fixture at early SOLO courses. Kaila followed Frank everywhere, overseeing campus construction, course design, and wilderness medicine classes. Some of the SOLO community may remember Frank, as a member Conway Rescue, responding to rescue calls in the powder blue Super Beetle with Kaila in the passenger seat howling along with the siren.
               If you remember Frank’s parents Ruthe and Hank,  you may also recall Ruthe’s golden retriever Merry. Although her actual name was Meredith, she was known at SOLO as “Merry the down-hill dog.” She acquired her cognomen because she could get to SOLO from Ruthe and Hank’s by going down hill.  When she wanted to get home, Merry would sit at the bottom of the SOLO driveway and look longingly at each car headed up hill until someone stopped and gave her a ride back to Ruthe and Hank’s.  Merry was a fixture at SOLO for many years, particularly when Ruth was head cook.   When Merry finally crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Goldilocks burst onto the scene.  “Goldie,” who was actually a red-colored golden retriever, was the most energetic dog we have ever had at SOLO.  Although Ruthe and Hank used to tell people that Goldie would calm down when she got older, Goldie lived fourteen years and never slowed down one bit.
            The first two true SOLO Cats were Murphy and Skunk. Murphy was a good mouser, but not very social. Skunk, alas, suffered from some kind of feline dementia. On occasion Skunk could be found outside, facing the wall of a building, meowing to be let in. Unfortunately, he would have chosen a façade that had no doors or windows. Some of Skunk’s problems may have been the result of falling off the third floor of the Main Building twice in one day. 
            Originally named Orvis, “Feral” was placed at SOLO as part of the witness protection program. Feral had two goals in life: first, to break into the Main Building where he was not allowed and announce that he had succeeded, and second, to annoy the two members of the SOLO staff who hated cats. On rainy days he could be seen paddling in muddy puddles in the main parking lot before walking on the cars of those two SOLO staff. The muddy pawprints were really appreciated.  To our knowledge, he only caught two mice and one still had the trap on it. Feral was eventually joined on the feline staff by Tigger, Judi, and Mr. Thomas.
            Judi and Mr. Thomas were two felines who took temp jobs at SOLO. Mr. Thomas had been abandoned on the property that had been purchased for the new dorm: Toad Hall. When we first encountered him, we thought that he was a fully-grown cat, and we named him Tom.  It turned out he was just a huge kitten who kept getting bigger, and bigger. When he reached a weight of 24lbs, we changed his name to Mr. Thomas aka Mr. T.  Judi was a tortoiseshell who worked in and around the SOLO office and was famous for her rather prominent thumbs. Mr. Thomas and Judi got along with each other, and with Tigger, but not with Feral. In time, Judi and Mr. Thomas moved up the hill to Ted’s cottage leaving Tigger and Feral to run SOLO.  Not long after Tigger’s arrival on staff, we lost Feral to a predator, which left Tig to do everything.
            Probably the most social cat we have ever had at SOLO, Tigger greeted newly arriving students, went on mock rescues, helped on outdoor scenarios, and joined the classes for meals. He also used to hang out with Goldie. Like many SOLO Cats, Tigger was not interested in mice; instead, he was interested in cars. Often  found in the cars of students who had left the windows of their vehicles down,  he often surprised the owners by riding with them into town and back. Sometimes when SOLO staff responded to a rescue call in the summer, they arrived on the scene only to find that Tigger, having stowed away, had come too. It is sad, if ironic, to reflect that it was a car that did Tig in. Before he met his untimely end on Allard Hill Rd, Tig had taken on Furgus Fontaine, a new apprentice to replace Feral.
            Furgus was almost as friendly and outgoing as Tigger, but he was navigationally challenged, once getting lost for five weeks while trying to walk from the dorm to the Main Building.  Because he was about as close in color to safety orange as a cat could get, Furgus was easy to spot. He loved hanging out near the Kubota tractor because it was really the only place camouflage worked.    
             On the canine front Lee and Frank adopted two wolf-hybrids, Kulane and Kodi.  Although they would ultimately spend all their time at Frank and Lee’s house (which they totally redecorated in “chewed-up chic”), they initially became socialized at SOLO.  Both were incredibly shy and spent hours squeezed as far back under desks as they could go.  Being naturally curious and playful, they occasionally found office furniture, electrical cords, and papers to be worthy of their ”exploration.”  As they matured, they enjoyed the attention of staff and students, but by the time they reached 100 pounds, it was decided that they should relocate to their 2-acre pen which boasted SOLO’s cast-off couches, a bathtub, and a dozen “dens.”  Like Kaila before them, they were excellent songsters and would howl in unison with the siren sounds rising up from the Valley floor.  As part of their daily routine, they enjoyed taking Lee on frequent runs.
             Around the time that Furgus became Head Cat, another wolf-hybrid joined the staff: Saxon. Saxon can be found hanging around her human, SOLO staffer Ted Walsh. As his constant companion, she has been included in a number of A.L.E.C. programs, two kayak-building courses, an Umiak-building program, and a number of Backcountry Navigator workshops. Today she spends most of her time up the hill at TMC Books, SOLO’s sister company, with Ted, but she can still be seen from time-to- time on campus.
            A Maine Coon Cat, Jack,  joined Furgus on the feline staff, not long after Tigger’s demise. Jack complained more than any other employee SOLO has ever had. You could almost always hear Jack approaching before you saw him, and on several occasions he actually let a mouse he had caught go in order to follow a student and complain about how hard his life was. Jack and Furgus worked together for several years (although Jack had a number of complaints about Furgus). Furgus met his end when he tried to befriend a coyote and was soon replaced by Mascot.
            Mascot tried to fit into the role of Assistant-Head-Cat, but, as described by our veterinarian; “Mascot is in the slow reading group.” This was a fact that Jack would point out to any and all who would listen to him. Eventually Jack left SOLO for a family that was more attentive to his many needs.
            At about this time Kelty joined the office staff. A large rat, that Assistant Director Jill MacMillan, claims is a small dog, Kelty accompanies Jill to the office each day. Kelty’s skills include scattering papers from off people’s desks, barking,  peeing on the carpet, and considerately chewing up any pens or pencils thoughtless office staff leave lying around.  She is a superb watchdog who warns Jill whenever students are doing scenarios in the woods outside Jill’s office.
            With Jack’s departure Mascot became Head Cat at SOLO. For the last year or so, Mascot has been working with only Bob and Silas, his two imaginary friends. Unfortunately, Bob and Silas don’t really like Mascot and sometimes try to beat him up.
            Widget, a small tortoiseshell and former barn kitten, is the newest addition to the SOLO feline staff (Mascot does not appear to be aware of this yet). She seems to be very excited about her new position at SOLO, although she expresses her excitement by hiding behind the furniture in the shop at Toad Hall.  As she ventures out into the shop and assumes her place as Assistant-Head-Cat, we are confident that Mascot will be a good mentor, at least as far as showing her how to use the electronic cat door and how to find the front porch of Toad Hall.
   

 

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