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I'm honestly not sure how I can write this post.  I wish I was some kind of writer who could capture the life of Hootie and our feelings about him, but only our memories give him full credit of who he was and what he meant to us.  Hootie coming to us was the definition of serendipity.  Range had been missing for a while, and John suggested that Hannah go over to the battle barn (a barn across 550 in Port Matilda) to pick out a cat because, as John has always said, "every girl needs a cat".  Knowing what I know now, I don't think I would ever recommend taking a "barn cat" out of a barn to live in a home, but Hootie never was a barn cat.  He had been raised in a home with his two siblings, but at some point, the owner gave them to the barn owner.  I can't even imagine Hootie surviving in a barn without the love of people, so it should be no surprise when Hannah showed up that he ran right to her. The deal was done.  Or so we thought. That first night, he...