Stories of people providing refuge for homeless animals can ‘warm the cockles of one’s heart’, even more so when the event’s synonymous with Valentine’s Day.

Sue Crawley Fazekas of Hughesville was the intricate link in a chain of events that brought her a feline to foster. History affirms Fazekas is an animal lover. In the past, she’d returned from Germany with a cat named Mozart; later came Mr. Bibs whom she rescued from a damp cellar and then Isabella from a litter of a local barn cat.

It was December 2010, not long after the demise of Mr. Bibs, that co-worker Janene Johns found a very pregnant cat near her home where she resided in Williamsport. Word of the expecting cat’s dilemma was a topic for conversation where the two women work at Springs Industries near Montgomery.

At that time, Johns wasn’t looking to increase the population at her house as there were already children and three beagles.

February 14 was the day the blessed event arrived, from a litter numbering three males and one female calico kitten. Soon Johns posted the kittens’ photos on Facebook.

In Hughesville, Fazekas’s defenses were low when viewing her computer and the needy newborns. Eventually she emailed Johns, her co-worker saying, “I guess you know which one I’ll take.”

In due time, Janene Johns found homes for mother and kittens with the little calico coming to Sue Crawley Fazekas’s home. The kitten’s family includes two aunties; Janene the rescuer and Sue’s sister-in-law Mary Crawley who named the new arrival Callie.

“My cats have very different personalities. Unlike Isabella whose independence may be due to the lack of early human contact, Callie is a lap cat, cuddles on my shoulder and sleeps next to me,” Sue said.

Each Valentine’s Day, Callie is honored with a birthday party with momma Sue and the two aunties. Each year a fancy feast of sweet delicacies are provided. This year the celebration featured chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with frosting that Callie loves to lick.

Callie loves attention and when the aunties or sitter Sonia Murphy arrive, the feline pushes her food bowl toward them. “It doesn’t matter if she’s just eaten, she’ll move the bowl or bag of food, then rub her fur against the visitor’s legs,” the new owner said.

Fazekas also said, “I never know the exact day my other cats were born, but we do know Callie came on Valentine’s Day. Whatever plans the aunties have on that special day, part of it is reserved for a special visit with Callie the calico cat.