Spumoni Ice Cream
Spumoni Ice Cream is a delicious treat. And it is a big part of the story behind how my cat Spumoni got his name in the 1st place.
In May 1992 I was living with my girlfriend Mishell in Alameda California. We talking about adopting a cat and went to the local animal shelter. The nice woman working there took us into a room filled with cages that had cats of all ages. We were intent on getting a little kitten so we could raise them to be loving and affectionate like the 2 of us.
Some of the cats were pretty listless. But there was this 1 little black-and-white kitten who was very animated and banging his paw against the front of the cage. We asked the attendant to take him out and hand him to us for a closer look.
This handsome little creature immediately put his face into Mishell’s neck and started nuzzling her. She thought he was so cute and a few moments later handed him to me. We looked into each other’s eyes and at that moment I felt like I was looking into his soul. A couple of seconds later Mishell and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, “we want this one!”
The attendant told us that we could not take him home right away. Apparently, he had just been turned into the shelter that morning after being found on the street. There is a 72 hour waiting time so that people don’t adopt a pet that already belongs to another person. But we were very excited and signed all the papers in anticipation that we could come back in 3 days to officially adopt him.
That night we were sitting on the sofa talking about the potential new addition to our family. We started bouncing around some different names but nothing seemed quite right. Then at the exact same time we looked at each other and said, what about Spumoni? Coincidentally, we happened to have a container of spumoni ice cream in the freezer. So, I went into the kitchen and fill up a large bowl for the 2 of us to share.
After finishing the bowl of ice cream we agreed that his name should be Spumoni. The next day we went out and bought some toys, litter box, pet carrier and some other essentials in anticipation of bringing him home soon. After waiting 3 days we contacted the animal shelter and sure enough they were waiting for us to come by and take our new child home.
So, the next time you have a dish or cone of spumoni ice cream think about the inspiration in this story. Thus began the long happy journey of having Spumoni as my wonderful companion for the next 14 years.
On May 10, 2022 it will be the 16th anniversary since Spumoni passed away. On that day at 10 AM there will be a small gathering at UC Davis to honor his memory and commemorate the installation of his new statute.
Spumoni Ice Cream – Side View of Statue at UCD Vet School
