Self Portrait

Although I am basically a dog person, when I lived in a Chicago apartment, Fritz the cat was one of my best friends. I was walking home from a late night January trauma call and Fritz approached me in the alley behind my apartment. He looked really cold and his eyes had a pleading look about them. Personality wise he was very friendly and when I picked him up he immediately began purring. I toted him into the apartment and fed him a can of sardines which has always been one of my favorite foods. Fritz found himself a home and we were the best of buddies for a really long time. Catgut suture material took on a new meaning for me and I found myself grinning ear to ear under my mask when loading a needle holder. Fritz made me happy whenever I thought of him. He never complained about me leaving for a case in the middle of the night or spending too much time reading Alexanders: Care of  the Patient in Surgery. Fritz did have a big ego and looked much like the feline artist above and embodied the same mentality. He was a really good buddy and I miss him dearly.