Cuddles of College Park - In-Home Pet Cuddling Service

Cuddles Communications

When Phil was Director of Operations for Dubsdread Golf Course, there was a small feral community that lived around the clubhouse. The mother cat kept having litters of kittens, and thankfully they were all adopted by kind golfers. The last litter was found and rescued just before Hurricane Charlie hit Orlando. The three adult females all survived the storm, but Phil decided something had to be done about their situation. He contacted CARE Feline Rescue, Inc., and began the process of Trap-Neuter-Return for the cats. This program calls for a long-term commitment to care for the animals. Over the following hurricane-filled months, the cats were given appropriate names: Charly for the biggest of the group; Francis for the youngest; Ivana for the mother (Hurricane Ivan put the golf course on alert but moved elsewhere, and you can�t name a girl Ivan!). The "girls" became more approachable and visible, actually becoming part of the lure and lore of Historic Dubsdread. When Phil left the course in August 2005, Dave P. took over the feeding and care of the group for him.

Fast-forward to March 2007, and Dubsdread Golf Course is finally closed for a long-overdue renovation. Dave P. is transferred to another course and the clubhouse becomes quiet compared to the days of hundreds of golfers arriving at its doorstep. All that remains are a few of the course architects and crew, a couple of management personnel, and lots of loud, heavy machinery. Phil knows he has to honor the commitment he made to the care of the Dubsdread cats. He starts going to the course every day to feed and visit with the "girls." The course general manager says he had received many calls inquiring about the cats and he assured each of them that they were going to be fine. Other concerned neighbors, Diane F. And Jackie R., have also taken up the task of daily feeding or checking up on the "girls." Many have donated food for the cause, and a big Thank You! goes out to them, especially Katharine C. and her feline crew of Mercy, Moses, Grace & Loppy. It is quite the sight to see Phil or Diane walking up to the clubhouse with the three cats running alongside, meowing their greetings.

For the fifteen-month construction period, the "girls" had a growing list of visitors checking up on them at their newly remodeled home. Unfortunately, Franny became visibly ill and had to be euthanized. This was a very difficult decision as Phil considers the "girls" to be his cats. She was only a few months old when he joined Dubsdread in February 2004, and was the first of the group to trust him, setting in motion the socialization of the others. It is sad that the visitors to the new golf course will not have the chance to meet the pretty little dark-striped girl. We know that Sunny and Padre have met her at the Rainbow Bridge and have a new friend. Our thanks goes out to Linda and Don L. and the staff of the Veterinary Emergency Clinic of Central Florida, South Orlando.

Ivana and Charly have had to make some adjustments to their lifestyle since Dubsdread reopened. The course is beautiful, attracting more visitors than ever before. The increased traffic along with the longer hours of operation due to the lighted range has made them somewhat shy. But you can still see them at feeding time in the early morning and late afternoon as they pop out of the bushes around the clubhouse looking for Phil or Diane!

Early one morning in mid-October, Phil was leaving a client's home when he spotted an odd-looking animal in a neighbor's driveway. Dog? No. Opossum? Maybe. As he moved closer, Phil realized that the animal feasting on the bountiful crop of acorns was a pig!

We are talking about Harvard Street in College Park, maybe two miles from downtown Orlando! It was obvious that the pig was somebody's pet as it was unafraid of Phil. A couple of cars slowed to take a look at the odd sight, one man getting out to snap a picture, saying "Nobody will believe me without this."

By this time, the pig was on the move eastbound on Harvard, crossing Westmoreland and headed for Edgewater Drive.

Harvard Street residents Peg and Niles joined in the rescue operation while Phil called several agencies hoping to have one assist in the venture, but none would help with a non-domesticated animal. One dispatcher suggested contacting Green Meadows Farm in Kissimmee, so the call was made. By now, the hungry pig had been coaxed into a cage using cat food from Phil's stash and a bowl of fresh water, completely unaffected by its situation.

The return call from Green Meadows provided a name of a person who had inquired about obtaining farm animals for their ranch. When Phil reached Anna, she said she would be happy to take the pig to a new home. So the three-hour ordeal ended cheerfully, and here is "Babe" with her new family. Thank you, Anna!