NAME: Mookie

OWNERS: George and Martha

HOW THEY MET:  Where exactly he was born is not clear, but on an afternoon in early May, 1987, an orange and white long-haired puff ball eight weeks old was selected from a caged kitten threesome at the New Bedford, Massachusetts animal shelter, as he showed a promise of greatness. He could bathe in a coffee mug, but what spirit. After 19 years in Maryland he has lost most of the New England accent, and as he was named for a New York Mets outfielder who played a key role in the catastrophic undoing of the Boston Red Sox in the autumn before he was born, has been grateful to get onto more neutral ground.

AGE: 22

HOME: Baltimore County

BREED: Domestic longhair/miniature lion

BEST TRICK: At 22 years old there's supposed to be a trick? How about breathing on a more or less regular basis?

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: Facing the not imminent but yet surely approaching shadow of the Grim Reaper with a nonchalant swish of his shaggy and matted tail (will not suffer the brushing), a slow blink and a profound question: Where's the food?

FAVORITE FOOD: Fancy Feast and gin martinis

FUNNIEST MOMENT: Years ago at a Friars Club roast for Richard Belzer. You had to be there.

WATCH THE TAIL: Don't go anywhere near  the once-bushy tail with a brush or any other grooming equipment, and don't say we didn't warn you.

IF MOOKIE HAD A MOTTO FOR LIFE, IT WOULD BE: Get a human, even a short one. They're relatively clean and easily controlled.

Photo courtesy of George and Martha