Azima Lord Byron of AntiochLord Byron (originally Brownie), photographed by Barb Azan at her house on 4/05/08. Lord Byron with brother Ronny (on top left) at Barb's home. Photo taken by Barb Azan on 4/11/08. Lord Byron was born in Barb’s house on 1/3/08. We all knew who Byron was for a number of reasons: First, Byron was the son of Mithrandir's Ronan of Azima and Kica's Picante. Barb had acquired Ronan from Anke Vliet as an outcross with excellent type and sweet disposition, and she looked forward to using their offspring, Byron and Ronny, for some future Azima litters. (See Ron Weasley's page.) Second, Sue and Karen Delmont assisted Barb in showing Byron as a pending kitten in a CFA show on May 24, 2008, under the temporary name of “Brownie”.
Lord Byron (originally Brownie) and with Purrfect Posy, below, photographed by Sue Howland at the CFA cat show on 5/24/08. Third, later in 2008 Barb began to reduce the number of cats in the house, so that summer Barb offered to sell "Brownie" to Kit Goodwin, who declined. Later Barb arranged to sell him to a breeder in Wales, who wanted to name him "Lord Byron," and that's the name that stuck. Shortly after this sale was arranged, Kit called Barb with a change of heart and was disappointed that Byron was sold.
Lord Byron at Barb's home. Photo taken by Barb Azan on 8/13/08. Documentation: The name Brownie appears in the catalog from that May 2008 cat show and on his early veterinary records. Angela Manookian, Sue, and Kit were aware that his name changed to Lord Byron, the choice of the prospective client in Wales. After Barb passed, we found one piece of paperwork identifying the one cat with both names to confirm the change. Barb had already registered his litter with CFA on 3/21/08 and so he is listed in her cattery report. Photos Sue took of Byron and Posy in their show cage had been sent to Barb shortly after the show so his photos appear on both of their computers. (Byron was one of most photographed cats in Barb's house when she died.) All those photos, Barb's breeding log, his litter registration and listing on the cattery report, combined with the trail of documentation Barb had completed in preparation for shipment to Wales (Rabies Certificate and tag, microchip stickers in several locations, medical record, a copy of the completed Rabies Antibody Titer form, and the vet's invoice -- all dated shortly before Barb's last hospitalization, while she was quite ill) provide indisputable identification of Azima's Lord Byron. The microchip number on the manufacturer's printed stickers throughout Byron's documentation matches the microchip number read in his body by Kit's vet! Lastly, and the cherry on top: Anke says she sees a lot of Ronan in photos she's seen of Byron! Sue and Kit spent a lot of time searching for the Welsh breeder who was to purchase Byron, Camille, and Classy. Nathan Michael Gilbert of Thorbjornpus cattery is a witness to some of these queries. When the Welsh breeder herself finally surfaced, she stated that she could no longer take the three cats (Byron, Camille, and Classy) she had arranged for with Barb, due to a change in her family's situation. As a result, Byron ended up with Kit after all!
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