Remembering Ariel

Posted on June 8, 2015 by jeffcuz

Ariel has gone to be with Belle in cat heaven.

For those who aren’t aware, Ariel and Belle were my first birthday present to Paige after we got married in 1994.

They were sisters and came from the home of a fellow WESH-TV employee when I was producing the morning newscast in Daytona Beach.

I went to pick out a cat for Paige, but there were just two left, and I didn’t want to leave one of them alone.

The cats were put in a wicker basket for the drive back to our Lake Mary apartment, and I remember before we got too far down the road, Ariel had managed to get a paw through the basket in an attempt to escape.

Ariel was a very smart cat. She could open cabinets, loved to catch those cardboard coasters you get from restaurants and had boundless energy in her early years. She could sprint across a room in no time flat, jump on a counter and be on top of a kitchen cabinet in an instant.

She was also a confidant during the uncertain times after Paige became pregnant with J.P. and was there when our boy was born and we weren’t sure what to do next.

For many years, after J.P. was in bed, Ariel would be waiting on our bed ready to be petted before it was lights out. That continued until her final day.