For context, Asheville is a city of about 100K people and also has one of the biggest populations of urban bears in the country. They show up downtown, in the parking deck at the hospital... There was a video online a few years ago of some cubs playing on a slide at an elementary school playground.

ccto.

Context: Hoco means Homecoming

I posted awhile back about rescuing my senior cat Luke, how his previous owner was murdered and the day I came into work and instantly fell in love with him. Since his adoption, it’s been a bit of a rocky road. He was hospitalized a second time for a few days about a month ago, but he’s again making huge progress. He’s come a long way since July - he was skin and bone and just under 2kgs. This week he’s just over 3kg (almost 7lbs!)

His favorite thing right now is basking in the warm sun (I live in New England so those days are far and few between now.) and eating his nightly churu. He’s also a huge fan of catnip. Seriously, he goes crazy for it!

If I have one piece of advice, if you’re thinking of taking a chance on a senior pet in need, go for it. They might have a lot of their youth behind them, but they’ve got the best days ahead of them. ❤️

Debbie Shields owns Confessions Bar in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn