News Alert: I get rid of Fonzie at garage sale

Fonzie with his new master Denis. And yes, Denis was vetted as thoroughly as he would have been if he had applied at the SPCA for a cat. And no, he is not taking Fonzie to an animal testing/torture lab.

Today, I am having a garage sale. And the reason that I'm blogging during the middle of it is because I forgot to double check that the ad actually made it on to Craig's List. And, well, it didn't -- until this morning when I started wondering why business was so damned slow.

Anyway, as garage sales go, I have some decent stuff on offer: boxed sets of 24, tween girl lit, the Sexual Life of Catherine M., handcuffs, a complete set of Harry Potter until someone stole the last two books when I ran upstairs to do something else, a wicker picnic basket, attractive handbags, etc.

And then I have some of the stuff that I've failed to get rid of at garage sales past and wasn't quite ready to give away: an old-fashioned girl's costume from the Shaw Festival, ski boots, some framed flower prints and a framed Tom Thomson, also a print although I have been asked if it was an original.

The flower prints, a gift, are not now and never have been my style. While I still love the Group of Seven, the frame, which I had done ages ago, was a mistake from day one and always bothered me. At this point, all I wanted was to get rid of the pictures and take whatever I could get.

A guy expressed interest but balked at my prices. Remembering that my sale motto was "priced to sell" I finally settled on $20 for the three of them.

And then the guy's friend started admiring my much-despised cat, Fonzie.

"He's available too," I said.

"You're kidding," he said.

"No," I said. "We're moving."

"You wouldn't send him to the SPCA, to death row," said Fonzie's admirer.

"No," I said. "If I were capable of doing that I would have done it long ago."

And then I gave an honest evaluation of Fonzie's character. "He's low maintenance. He needs to go outside. He's not good with children. And he bites," I said just as he bit down on his admirer's hand.

"Oh, that's nothing," said his admirer. "We have a big house in the country with lots of cats."

"He'd be happy there," I said as I pointed at Katya's house. "The woman who lives there has 12 cats and he visits all the time."

"Hmmm," he said.

"I can throw in his cage," I said.

And to his friend, I added: "I'll throw in those pictures. Free."

Negotiations followed. We exchanged phone numbers and e-mails. I took photos which I'll post later. And Fonzie left for a new home in the country where one of his new cat companions was, apparently, picked up at an estate sale a few years back.

"You just never know what will happen at a garage sale," I said as Fonzie and the guys departed.

"It was destiny," said Denis, his new owner.

Farewell Fonzie!

And they all lived happily ever after.