text: Congratulations to our June 2023 Pet of the Month, Negan Buerk!
  Hi, my name is Negan. My mom told me I am named after a charismatic villain from “The Walking Dead” graphic novels/TV show. She tells me that my name suits me perfectly, as I can be quite affectionate and charming when I want to be, but I am also a bit shady and will smack any dog that steps out of line. I am a dashing 7-year-old black cat with a small white blaze on my chest and a couple of white toes.
  I had a bit of a rough start to my life. A kind lady saw me get thrown out of a car window when I was only 6 weeks old. This kind lady brought me to a local vet clinic in the sandhills of North Carolina. As luck would have it this is where I met my future family, as my human mom worked at this vet hospital. It was discovered that I had a broken hind leg and would need surgery to repair it. My mom fixed me right up. I was such a trooper and was good as new in no time.
  I now call Florida home, with my human mom, my human brother, and 2 rather daft dogs. I am an expert bug hunter, and I enjoy chattering at the birds that frequent our yard. I love laying on warm freshly folded laundry, assisting mom with jigsaw puzzles, and I make sure my mom feeds me right on time (I start gently reminding her that food is needed in about 1 hour – and I will remind her every 2 minutes after that). Patience is overrated in my opinion.
  I take full advantage of my ink-black color, as I will sneak attack my dog siblings with a well-timed smack. I am far superior to them, but they are family, and I will provide them with affectionate head boops when they are not feeling well or if we are somewhere a little scary (TOAH vets and staff are amazing, but it is a little scary to my canine sibling – so I make sure they are ok whenever we have to visit). Thank you TOAH staff for nominating me as Pet of the Month – I humbly accept this great honor.