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| Gabriella Pyle |
Gabriella Pyle's Grand Prize photo was taken on
her cell phone camera. |
By Victoria Fisher
Television aficionados would remember Gomer Pyle as the good-natured, naive gas station attendant with the noticeable accent on "The Andy Griffith Show."
A certain cat from Walnut Creek, Calif., has a few things in common with the famous TV character. They share a first and last name. Both have a distinctive vocabulary (one consists of meows) and a sweet demeanor. And, both are famous.
Gomer (the cat) and his owner, Gabriella Pyle, were chosen as the winners of The HSUS's 2008 Spay Day USA Pet Photo contest (sponsored by Nature's Miracle and Zoombak).
The photo contest was part of The HSUS's annual campaign to inspire people to save animals' lives by spaying or neutering pets. The contest invited people to make a statement about how their pets have impacted their lives in a fun and often touching manner.
Gabriella's photo was chosen by a panel of celebrity judges from a field of more than 31,500 entrants who submitted photos of their pets along with short descriptions of their animals and the effect they’ve had on their lives. While the vast majority of animals featured were dogs and cats, hundreds of people entered horses, rabbits and ferrets. Rats, guinea pigs, birds and fish were featured as well.
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Gabriella Pyle's
Winning Caption |
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"When looking to adopt, I was shocked to see your name; I'd been teased when I was little and called the very same. Though I tried to just ignore you, and find a different cat, it was you who chose me that day, And how I was blessed by that!"
— Gabriella, Walnut Creek, CA |
Gol-ly!
"You can probably imagine the jokes I endured growing up with the last name 'Pyle.' Add to that the fact that my first initial is 'G,' and it was a veritable Gomer Pyle Giggle Fest all throughout my formative years," said Pyle.
Pyle said she always loved cats and had several in her life, but had not been able to get a cat for several years after she moved to California from the East Coast. She started searching at Bay Area animal shelters for the right cat when she moved to a place that allowed cats as pets.
When Pyle walked into the Tri-Valley SPCA cat shelter, she read the names of the cats, walking into rooms to get acquainted with each one.
"Imagine my surprise when I saw the name 'GOMER' on one of the cards," she said. "All my memories of the childhood taunting rushed through my head and I immediately walked away from the room—intent to pass the strange coincidence by—and tried to forget him altogether. But as I visited with all the other cats, I found that I just wasn't experiencing an immediate connection with any single one of them."
A Twist of Fate
A volunteer approached Pyle and offered help. Pyle explained the exact cat she was looking for: an affectionate adult cat who wouldn’t mind being in a single-pet household who would be comfortable with Pyle’s long hours away at work.
"As soon as I stopped describing my ideal cat, she said excitedly, 'Have you seen Gomer?''" Pyle said. "I am pretty sure I rolled my eyes as I followed her to Gomer’s room. I thanked her and went inside to meet the little guy … it was love at first meow!"
Pyle adopted then 2-year-old Gomer on April 4, 2004.
"It was probably the best and cheapest therapy a person could go through to let go of an old emotional scar," said Pyle.
Meet Gomer
"I love so many things about Gomer. He is just such a little snuggler, and he loves giving kisses with his nose. Also, he has such a large vocabulary of meows—he is so very expressive," said Pyle.
Gomer's favorite thing "in the whole world," according to Pyle, is spinach.
"If the grocery bags have spinach in them, he is jumping up and down trying to get to it. If there is spinach in the vegetable crisper, he will force himself into the fridge as soon as I open the door," said Pyle.
When Pyle adopted Gomer, there was a note in his file from his previous owner that he was "a messy eater."
"It's as if he throws the pieces up in the air like confetti, celebrating supper time … There are pieces flying everywhere! But strangely enough, when he's done eating, he neatly scoots the stray bits back behind the bowl and out of sight using his paw."
Gomer even has a MySpace blog, which he uses mostly to stay in touch with his many local fans. Now that he's won the photo contest, Gomer is going to use his blog for greater purposes to help reach more people about matters of importance to animals near and far, said Pyle.
Adopting Adult Cats
Pyle has had cats in her life since she was a child, and all were adopted. She met her previous cat, Maddie, after her owner died and she was separated from her sister.
"I will never forget the look on her face when I first saw her at the shelter, hiding under torn shreds of newspaper, shaking. From that day on, I knew that I would never adopt a kitten again, but that I would always rescue adult cats. It breaks my heart to think of what she went through when her owner died," Pyle said.
Pyle's advice for those who are thinking of adopting cats is "always adopt from shelters" and adopt adult cats as often as possible.
"Kittens will find homes. Somebody has to adopt the adults. Remember, adult cats are often already litter-box trained and do not get into as much trouble as little kittens."
No Fancy Camera Needed
Pyle's prize-winning photo was captured on a cell phone camera.
"I like to take naps on the couch and Gomer just loves jumping up on my chest and taking a snooze with me," said Pyle. "That day, my cell phone was in arm's reach, so I snapped the photo while he was sleeping. I was amazed at how well it turned out!"
As the Grand Prize Winner, Pyle will receive a studio session with Amanda Jones, one of the country's premier pet photographers, a Zoombak Advanced GPS Dog Locator, assorted Nature's Miracle products and a $1,000 shopping spree at Humane Domain, The HSUS's official online store. She will also choose one nonprofit organization participating in Spay Day USA to receive a $5,000 grant.
Pyle said she is "going to spoil Gomer rotten" with the $1,000 Humane Domain shopping spree, but plans to donate some items to a local cat foster home.
"I really admire foster families and know that these people often could use some help in funding their important work. And it will make the foster cats' lives better, too," she said.
"I'm still actually having a hard time believing this is real," said Pyle of winning the contest. "What an honor … I think all the winning photos were absolutely amazing. I'm so proud that Gomer's and my picture was among them at all!"
Rescue More Gomers!
"I cannot imagine a world without Gomer," said Pyle. "If he'd ended up in a different kind of shelter and if everyone was adopting the kittens next to him, he wouldn't be here today. Just think of how many other wonderful pets are out there, waiting to find a home, but who are usually overlooked because 'everybody loves a kitten/puppy,'" said Pyle. "Spay and neuter your animals! Rescue more Gomers!"
To see a slideshow of the photo contest winners, visit http://multimedia.hsus.org/slideshows/spayday/contest_2008/.
Victoria Fisher is the outreach communications coordinator for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS.
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