Your #1 rules! I'm a certified Cat Person, and the story of your pirate buddy should be in Reader's Digest.
My grandfather has a 3 legged dog. He's so good at getting around, (the dog, not the grandfather heheh), most people don't notice for quite some time the dog is missing one rear leg. The dog was a stray my grandfather took in. About a month after he arrived, my grandfather was cutting the lawn, the mower threw a rock, which hit the dog in the left rear thigh. He didn't seem to be hurt, but some days later, my grandfather noticed a foul smell, and found a wound that, unfortunately, was gangrenous. The vet tried to cure the infection, to no avail. The vet then advised putting the dog to sleep. My grandfather decided instead to let the vet Amputate, and let the dog try to make do. (And BOY does he make do!) Maybe someone should offer to put the vet to sleep next time.
