Why you should never judge a book by its cover..

[elminster20]

I have two cats that I dote on. Very much. I'm also a 27 year old man with two very large tattoos that cover the majority of my body and few piercings as well. I don't exactly fit the mold of a cat-lover but... So what, right?
I found out last night that even I let my preconceived notions get the better of me once in a while. I was spending time with a friend of mine, at her house, watching tv and playing with her new puppy. Her friend, Matt, came over. I took one look and IMMEDIATELY assumed the worst. He was a big muscular guy, black clothes, dark makeup, chains and piercings and all the rest that scream 'goth' with the first glance. He also had a bag with him. And when he sat down, a three legged cat crawled out and perched his shoulder. I had to ask and it turns out....... A few years ago Matt was living in a crappy apartment in a crappy building. His neighbour was a real trouble maker, loud parties, screaming fights with girlfriends, awful smells, and just plain rudeness. Every so often he would hear meowing from the apartment but never thought much of it. Until he saw a scrawny little cat in the hallway one morning. Picked him up and petted him. The neighbour came out and grabbed the cat to take back inside but I guess from then on Matt was on his guard. He woke in the middle of the night one night to an awful screeching coming from the apartment next to his and ran in to the hall. He kicked the door down, saw what had happened, that the guy had, apparently purposefully, slammed the bathroom door on his cat's leg, decked the guy, and took the cat to an all night animal hospital. The cat, named Gus now, had to have the hind leg amputated, and Matt had to find a new place to live, but they've been together ever since. Apparently, wherever Matt goes, so goes Gus. And you can see the connection the two have, sitting on the couch. Matt leaves for the washroom and Gus goes inside with him. He gets handfed and cooed at and petted. So Matt, the angry 'goth', worships his cat, and I got a pretty good lesson about never judging someone just because they look a certain way.
And Gus didn't bat an eye at the puppy, although the puppy went insane most of the time

[Taz_Zoee]

OMG, this brought tears to my eyes. First in disgust at what that man did to poor Gus. And second at how Matt saved/rescued Gus from the evil man.
It is true, you shouldn't judge before you know someone. But in a way we all do, unfortunately.
We just got home from an 11 day motorcycle trip. Walking around in full leathers can get some weird looks from people and I can only imagine what they think of us. They'd be shocked to know I am a HUGE animal lover and that my boyfriend teaches (volunteer) guitar to underpriveleged children.

[Karen]

Hee hee - good for Gus! And Matt! I think it's funny that Gus didn't even bat an eye at the pup "Listen, pup, you got nothin' on this guy I used to know ..."

Gotta love pet people. I do prejudge in that, if I see a person with a loved pet, I automatically think better of them than I otherwise would. It's not at all conscious, but it is there!

[Catty1]

Take a look at the second pic here...know exactly what you mean!

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=154622

[elminster20]

I loved that picture Catty1.
And I always thought I was past the point where I'd judge someone from a first look. I myself have been the victim of that often enough, the sidelong looks and the shake of the head, the whispered comments, etc. and have seen people express great surprise when I talk about my two girls. But I dunno, I guess goth thing just threw me. It was pretty incredible to see though, and to see how well Gus got around on just three legs!!

[Medusa]

We just got home from an 11 day motorcycle trip. Walking around in full leathers can get some weird looks from people and I can only imagine what they think of us. They'd be shocked to know I am a HUGE animal lover and that my boyfriend teaches (volunteer) guitar to underpriveleged children.

I'm w/ya on that one, Cindy. When I dated a biker, if we were leathered up and got off the bike, sometimes mothers would actually grab their children and hold them close. Now really, do I look like a biker mama? My date didn't sport one tat either but apparently we projected an image that some people found scary. If they only knew that I had a houseful of furkids and he had two yellow labs.

How heartbreaking that the little kitty in this story had to go through such pain and trauma but how wonderful that he has such a strong and protective guardian. What a story! Thank you so much for sharing it. There are some really good people out there.

[Taz_Zoee]

I'm w/ya on that one, Cindy. When I dated a biker, if we were leathered up and got off the bike, sometimes mothers would actually grab their children and hold them close. Now really, do I look like a biker mama? My date didn't sport one tat either but apparently we projected an image that some people found scary. If they only knew that I had a houseful of furkids and he had two yellow labs.

Yup, Bruce has ZERO tattoos and I have one small one on my ankle that you can't see when we're riding because of long pants and boots. And it's a flower. But on vacation I always went up to people that had their dogs (we saw so many dogs on this trip), except when I was in full leathers or my helmet on. I didn't want to scare the dogs. LOL

[Trinityagain]

we saw a bumper sticker last week that goes along with the story and the pictures.."Real men rescue cats"

[jenluckenbach]

There is not a smilie icon big enough to show how much I loved the story.

[smokey the elder]

Looks like a goth version of Rescue, Ink; a group of highly-tattooed biker types that live on Long Island and do cat and dog rescue. No one is gonna mess with them or their cats!

[lvpets2002]

Oh My my that was such a Great Story with a Heart Warming Ending.. I have got joyfull tears in my eyes.. Way to go Matt & Gus.. Yes tripods can go faster than four legged if they want..

[happylabs]

Thank you for the story! I think I probably have done that once or twice, looked at someone and though badly because of the way they look. I think I get some of that from my father but I seriously try not to be like him. Sadly, I would consider him a racist. He is 86 and has preconceived notions that will never change.

Anyone that has a heart for animals is definitely a good person in my book!

[catmandu]

Thats great that Gus has found a devoted Friend and vice versa.
And you are rigght about judging books by thier cover, I have heard from Animal Welfare that some of the people who abandon Cats are the ones who look the most respectable.

[katladyd]

This is where we could take a lesson from our pets. They never judge us by how we look, but rather, by how we treat them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I agree. What a heart warming story. I too have judged people by their looks before. Many times the scariest looking men turn out to be real pussy cats.