Meet Waylon Buttons! Ace Hardware’s new resident cat. Named for Waylon Jennings and his cute button nose, this rescue tabby has big shoes to fill after former Ace cat with a cult following, Jingles El Gato, passed away two years ago. We know Buttons is up for the job.
“His name is Waylon Buttons,” said Erik Underwood, Ace Hardware store manager, as I petted the orange, long-haired tabby. Waylon for Waylon Jennings, of course, and Buttons because that’s the name the Paradise Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) gave him in a nod to his red button nose.
I spotted him on the chilly January morning, cuddled up next to the rechargeable hand-warmer display near the front of the store and blending in with the orange Denver Broncos scarves and a battered stuffed fox.
I was on the prowl for a replacement thermostat, hoping to ease the chill that had crept into my place since I’d returned from my grandma’s funeral in Florida. The unprocessed grief of her passing had caught up with me, and I had spent the weekend avoiding the holiday crowds. Buttons was a sight for my sore eyes.
It had been almost two years since his predecessor, the infamous Jingles El Gato Perro, had passed away. Over his long life, Jingles had become a feline star in Crested Butte, with his own Instagram account, community-wide birthday party and informal fan club. He was loved as much for his high visibility as his chill, tolerant demeanor. PAWS had suggested that Buttons might be an excellent fit to take over as resident cat at Ace.
“This cat is special,” said Rita Clement, board president for PAWS.
“We knew he would be the right cat for a store. He is very gentle and very tolerant. Besides the fact that he’s gorgeous. He just seemed to be the kind of cat that responded very well to any kind of changes.”
“PAWS talked us into it,” said Trent Sweitzer, Ace co-owner, when asked how Buttons came to take up residency at Ace. “We met him, and he was a cool cat, so we thought, ‘Okay, we can do it again.’”
Though he has big shoes to fill, Buttons is up for the job. When I found myself at Ace again later in the year, Erik said Buttons was probably out working. He pointed to a notebook behind the register full of handwritten tally marks.
“We have a confirmed body count,” he said. “He’s at 24 confirmed kills [that was up to 40 at the time of publication]. Eleven of those were on the same day.”
“We had an infestation,” Trent said, explaining that Buttons had sat at the front of the store and wiped out mouse after mouse as they tried to sneak under the door. “He took care of them. He does his job.”
Though Waylon Buttons doesn’t have his own Instagram page yet, he’s picking up a following from people like me, who are delighted to find that there can be another community cat to fill the void left by the loss of Jingles.
In the depth of winter, the darkness of grief can make it difficult to see that. Though we don’t forget those we’ve lost, it’s okay to move on and let someone else fill the hole they’ve left behind.
When I asked if Buttons would get his own birthday party, like Jingles’ annual celebration held on or near Cinco de Mayo each year, Trent said, “Hopefully next spring. Same time frame. Buttons’ birthday is on the Fourth of July, but it’s a little too busy around then.”