letter from the EDITOR
Who would we be
without our pets? I
can remember the first time I
laid eyes on Cosmo, my
18-pound, all black, part-Siamese
cat. A friend of mine was spending
too much time away from home and
looking for a kind friend to take him
in.
It was sprinkling outside as I
circled the apartment complex in
Norcross, trying to find the
apartment. When I knocked on the
door and my friend opened it wide,
there he was. He sauntered right up
to me, before I could even step
inside and greeted me with a great,
loud “Meowwwwwww.” I knew
immediately he was the little guy for
me. He spent the next hour playing
with the rain jacket I was wearing
(the same one I’m wearing while
writing this letter, so it happens),
transfixed by the “flap, flap” sound it
made when he batted it with his
paw.
In the years since then, I’ve
learned a lot of lessons taking care
of Cosmo, named after my favorite
Seinfeld character (I’ll let you guess
which one that is). He likes to be
snuggled like a person. He loves
carbs and has been known to steal
and eat loaves of bread and one
unfortunate apple fritter. He shuts
his eyes, purrs and drools when he’s
happy. He makes monkey noises if
there’s a bird outside. He likes to
follow people wherever they go,
including trips to the bathroom. He
meows nonstop, to the point that
many people have questioned how I
stay sane. I tell them it’s like finally
being able to have a conversation
with your pet and they talk back.
Our conversations go something a
little like this:
“Hi Cosmo.”
“Meooooowwwwwwwww.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Meowwww.”
“Wow. I can’t believe she would
say that.”
“Meow.”
“What’s for dinner?”
“Meowwwwwwwwww. Meow.”
“Chicken pate it is.”
Likewise, I remember when I
first heard about his sister, Carmela,
his polar opposite. My brother,
Harrison, was attending Georgia
Southern University when a small
cat that couldn’t be more than 6
months old and had already had a
litter of kittens, stumbled on his
porch. She was muddy, covered in
gook and fleas. But when he sent me
a picture of her, lying on her side,
fast asleep, I knew I had to take her
home. I named her Carmela, after
another TV show character from
“The Sopranos,” and because the
brownish-orange stripes in her
white fur reminded me of melted
caramel.
She’s less than 10 pounds, with
a small little frame and even tinier
paws. Unlike her brother, Cosmo,
she rarely, if ever, meows. When she
does, it comes out as a cracked
whisper. She’s much more
independent than Cosmo, but full of
love and spunk. Not to mention that
despite her small stature, she runs
the household and just allows the
rest of us to live there.
I’m sure you have your own
fond stories and anecdotes about
your pets, just like me. They’ve
become part of our lives, in every
way that counts, and we can
consider them as members of our
family. Which is why I’m so
delighted to bring to you this year’s
Pets issue of Cobb Life Magazine.
In addition to a picture of my
own pets, for this issue’s letter from
the editor, I wanted to feature pets
owned by employees of the Marietta
Daily Journal as well. In a way, these
animals are part of the MDJ family,
having assisted their owners during
the mental, emotional and physical
drain of the pandemic with happy
tail wags and friendly kisses. They
range from fat cats like my own to
big dogs to boisterous chickens.
Inside this edition, you’ll find
our cover story on dog-friendly
breweries around town both you
and your pooch will be dying to
visit. Take a look at our feature on
Cinder, the Dalmatian who, with the
help of her Cobb County firefighter
owner, is teaching kids on Tik Tok
about fire safety. We took to the
shelters this issue, which saw record
adoption rates in 2020, to ask what
they need from us as a community
to fulfill their missions of finding
homes for animals. I hope you’ll try
Erica Thomas’ delicious
Thanksgiving recipes for the holiday
8 COBB LIFE | NOVEMBER 2021