10 years ago Alton and his wife began volunteering at Blanco State Park as campground hosts. It wasn't long before a small, beautifully marked little cat began hanging around their RV, and Alton (a pushover for a hungry animal), put out some cat food. It was obviously a feral cat and wouldn't let Alton near it....for the first year. The next year Alton returned to volunteer, and there was the cat waiting for him. More food was offered, and by the end of the year, the cat would let him softly pet her while eating.
Year three....more food and more petting, and by the end of the year the cat was following him everywhere. Alton says that since the cat followed him everywhere like a puppy, he decided to name her "Fido". Year four; more petting, and then came year five and the big breakthrough, when Fido climbed into his lap and allowed him to pet her. Each year since then, Fido has been waiting for Alton to return to the park, and now when he arrives she quickly becomes his "lap dog"....er, cat. In her tenth year since adopting Alton, she stays at the park by herself each summer because she's still feral enough that she occasionally needs her space and wants to roam. But when Alton's here, you can bet that if you walk by his RV and he's outside reading a book he'll have a lap full of a sleeping Fido. Alton doesn't know how old Fido is or how many more years she'll be here to greet him when he arrives, but he hopes it's for a long time. So do we.
