Unleashed, the Dog & Cat Store

I didn't have any idea when I took this photo (below) with my phone in October 2010 that one of the kittens living under this shed would soon become a part of the Unleashed family!  This is Guen's birthplace at the NC State Fairgrounds.  Every year, we have a booth at the Fair which runs for 11 days, and we are open from 9am-10pm all 11 days!  So, when we get a chance to take a lunch break, it is nice to go outside and walk away from the noise and hubbub of the over 1 million people that attend each year.  Well, down by the Fair offices is this shed, which stray cats seem to think is a nice place to live (especially since all of the Fairgrounds staff gives them attention and food!)  So, we would daily take our lunch and sit on the curb and watch the kittens play to escape from our otherwise hectic days.  Little did I know that when I told Hilal of this nice place to sit for lunch he would decide that it was time for him and Jamie to get a kitten.  But, on the last day they worked the fair, Jamie & Hilal were taking an unusual amount of time closing up.  That is because they were busy catching a kitten!  The fair staff tried to get them to adopt them all, but one was all that they had room for.  And that one very lucky stray all-black little kitten became Guen, the 3rd addition to Jamie and Hilal's family!  She turned out to be super sweet, and simply adorable.  And she gets along with Missy, Fozzie, Benny, Vixen, Wesley & Buttercup!

In October 2011, Jamie and Hilal decided to adopt another fur-child from the exact spot they found Guen one year before! They found only 1 kitten at the same spot and found out she was 100% healthy. They named her Corazon, or Cora for short. Guen and Cora make great sisters and are best friends.