Beach Kitty was once a stray that found a
home at Sweet and Savory, where there
were always plenty of scraps. Eventually,
one of the waitresses claimed her and
brought her home to the south end of Wrightsville Beach. But
Beach Kitty didn’t fit in with her new owner’s two large dogs;
and Sara Hardy, who lived a block away, noticed her roaming
around. Luring her to safer territory, Sara began to leave food
on her porch and slowly but surely Beach Kitty found comfort
and a new home on Schloss Street.
“I moved in with my sister in 2007,” Sara’s sister Anna
Hardy explains, “adopting partial ownership of Beach Kitty.”
Though she found love in the Hardy sisters, Beach Kitty
wasn’t shy about finding other laps to sit on through the sum-mers.
During Beach Kitty’s long forays, Anna recalls catching
her cat “bronzing with boys on the beach.”
After Sara moved away, Anna took full responsibility for
Beach Kitty.
Last year, during a trip to PetCo, Anna spotted another
feline in need. Volunteers with Adopt an Angel told her that
this particular kitten and the rest of the litter were found aban-doned
on Red Cross Street. Anna thought of Beach Kitty and
adopted her sister, Sushi.
When Wrightsville Beach Mayor David
Cignotti married his wife Susan
Creasy, she came as a package deal
with a cat named Moses, who lived
for 21 faithful years.
David and Susan decided it was time for a dog.
None of the dogs at the Topsail Humane Society quite
fit the picture they had imagined, so David and Susan
headed for the door.
As they got to their car, a woman who had been
showing them around came running out, saying, “I
think I’ve got one you want to look at.”
She brought out a short but long black dog with
wild hair. Immediately, David said, “That’s what I’m
looking for,” and Sparky came home to Harbor Island.
When Susan thought Sparky needed a friend, Susan
and an Adopt-an-Angel volunteer began to look in
PawPrints Magazine. Bringing home a dog with one
floppy ear named Snow Bunny, Snow Bunny’s name
was changed to Sandy, because the beach is no place
for a snow bunny.
David Cignotti and Susan Creasy
& Sparky and Sandy
Anna Hardy
& Beach Kitty and Sushi
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WBM
Anna Hardy
with Sushi
Top photo by Joshua Curry