On May 10^th every year we celebrate International Spumoni Day. On this day in 2006 Spumoni passed away and entered the spiritual realm.  In his memory we honor all creatures great and small, especially the four-legged companions of people everywhere.

If you have a cat, dog or other pet then you do not have to work on May 10 each year. This is a very special holiday where we celebrate the love, affection and companionship of our pets. It’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the joy and happiness that Spumoni and other creatures bring to our lives.

When Spumoni was around 8 weeks old my girlfriend at the time (Mishell) suggested that we adopt a pet. We went to the Alameda Animal Shelter together in the spring of 1992. There were dozens of cats in cages many of them sitting passively waiting for a new home.

After looking at a few different felines our attention was drawn to this handsome black and white tuxedo kitten. He was very animated and smacking his paw against the metal on the cage to get our attention.

Mishell and I looked at each other and simultaneously said to the shelter worker, “can we hold him?”  The nice lady working at the shelter took this cute little ball of fur out of the cage and handed him to Mishell. He immediately started nuzzling her neck and purring. She then handed this adorable little kitten to me and we looked into each other’s eyes.

But it was more than that. I realized immediately that we were looking into each other’s souls. At that moment Mishell and I both proclaimed, “we want this one!”  Thinking we would take him home that afternoon we were stunned to learn that we would have to wait 3 days. It seems he had just arrived at the animal shelter that morning. They have a policy of giving owners 3 days to claim their lost pet.

Optimistic but temporarily heartbroken we filled out all the paperwork for his adoption. We even went to the store and bought all of the necessary supplies. It was our fervent hope that he would become part of our household.

That night we were sitting on the sofa debating what to name him.  After discussing and tossing out a number of different names we looked at each other and simultaneously said, “what about Spumoni.”  It was one of those moments in time when something just seemed to click.

Three days later we got a call from the animal shelter asking us to come down and take our bundle of joy to his new home. That was the beginning of 14 years of love and happiness with Spumoni.

So every year on May 10^th we proclaim International Spumoni Day to be a special day for everyone who has or ever had a special companion.  And it gives us great joy to think about all of the wonderful memories we shared during those 14 years together.