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Written by Jimmy Frost
As many of you know, Zoey has been with me for nearly two years. Bari, on the other-hand has been with me for about nine months. He’s not quite as vocal as Zoey is when it comes to treats. That is, until he sees the latest can of Kitty Kaviar, than all bets are off.
He will grovel, he will howl, he will debase himself, becoming shameless and endearing at the same time, until I cave and give him a pinch of this special treat. Then I have to lock away the can, or he will find it and open it devouring the contents!
There’s an Alpha war going on in the truck when Zoey and Bari are together. Both of them believe that they are the superior one, and usually Zoey can hold her own. But lately Bari has gained the upper bunk (a prime location that Zoey used to occupy). Bari is a little faster and more agile that Zoey, and he uses that to his full advantage. From time to time, Zoey gets frustrated and downright hostile with Bari. She still climbs up on my chest at night and claims me as her own, for she knows she's always going to be "Daddy's Girl".
While Zoey and I are trying to sleep, I hear Bari romping around the forward part of the cabin. Pawing into compartments and cubbyholes that the truck has (I know he is looking for that Kitty Kaviar!) I hear a "THWAP!" This sound indicates he hasn’t found the Kitty Kaviar, but he has found and dug out my checkbook tossing it on the floor. I can just hear him mumbling, “Where did Pop put that stuff?”
When I hear a "THUMP, POP-POP-POP-POP" followed by the sound of paper rustling and fluttering to the floor, that means that Bari has dislodged all the days toll and fuel receipts from under the bungee cord on the sun visor. I'll be picking them up in the morning.
An intermittent rattle makes me cringe, for that's the sound of him toying with the air-horn lanyard. If he catches that with enough downward force, the air-horn will go off and wake up a lot of truckers, who are not going to like their rest disturbed and be very upset, to say the least. And with my luck, they will all be dog-lovers too! I yell out in the darkness, “Bari, the can is in the glove box! Even as smart as you are, you’ll never find it there!” His answer is an assortment of crashes, bumps and thumps as he tries to prove me wrong.
Bari is a nocturnal party animal and he's not ready to go to bed when Zoey and I are. I've heard other driver’s comments when they walk around my truck at night while Bari is zipping around the windshield, across the dashboard and over the tops of the seats... “How can he sleep with all that activity going on inside his truck?”
Bari likes to get in my face, especially if he wants something. And boy, does he want Kitty Kaviar! Whenever I take out that can and pop the lid, Bari becomes an avid mountain climber, downhill skier and track star, as he scrambles over every obstacle that stands in the way of his treat.
When it comes to affection, Bari resorts to the same tactics. He comes right over and plants himself in my lap, staring right at me. If I put him back on the floor, he meows once and then it's right back into my face. Who can resist?
The most endearing thing to me about this little guy is his "chirp".
When he sees a bird outside or when I pull out my laser-pointer, his lower jaw starts flapping and he emits the funniest little chirp that I've ever heard from a cat. The first time he did it, we were waiting for a load in Richmond, VA. I was amazed to hear that sound coming from him. I know that other cats make this sound, but Bari is the first cat I've ever known to do this and I love hearing him chirp.
Sure, he's too rambunctious, sheds too much and plays a little too rough. But he's earned a place in my heart and now I'd never truck without him. I especially would never get into the truck with him without having Kitty Kaviar on board too! Those nightly treasure hunts of his have become a part of my routine; he’s such a love, who cares about sleep depravation anyway?
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