A Neighborhood Mourns A Cat

We found this New York Times article incredibly uplifting, even though it centers on a funeral for a beloved neighborhood cat, affectionately known as "The Mayor of Seventh Street", in New York's East Village. Pretty Boy, who was believed to be 22 at his passing from natural causes this past May, "unleashed a storm of emotion" among those whose lives he touched. "He knew he was the man. He was the man on East Seventh Street. Everybody just loved him," said one grieving woman, who used to work at the pet shop where Pretty Boy held court.

                 Pretty Boy in 2006. Photo courtesy of New York Times

But "The Mayor" didn't just lie around-he spent his days visiting the shops on Seventh Street, purring all the while. He had a particular affinity for hair salons, leading one of the Mayor's closest friends, the owner of a neighborhood salon, to believe that Pretty Boy was a reincarnated hairdresser. And the beloved cat was clearly nondenominational-he spent his Saturdays greeting families who stopped by after services from a neighborhood synagogue, and on Sunday, hosted children from a Ukrainian church.

The salon owner summed it up nicely: "You get so hard living here...but pets open up that heart center. There is something about the unconditional love; they clean the blues off of you."
Cleaning off the blues, indeed. Our condolences to the grieving citizens of East Seventh Street.
Enjoy the full article here: www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/nyregion/20prettyboy.html

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