Robert Allison:  

I started out as a Music Education major at Duquesne, and somehow wound up with a Master of Science in Computer and Information Science from Ohio State. Like many OSU grads, I settled in Columbus, and lived there for a number of years. In addition to OSU, Columbus highlights included four years as a volunteer at the Capital Area Humane Society, work as a Systems Analyst at CompuServe, being befriended by a white Bengal tiger at the Columbus Zoo, and breaking 80 on the OSU Gray Course. Columbus lowlights included an ill-fated marriage and divorce. At the Humane Society, I had the opportunity to help hundreds of people adopt dogs and cats. Knowing how much joy animals can bring to our lives made this one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. The tables were turned one evening when I came face to face with a six week old, dark brown tabby kitten named Dean who was bound and determined to adopt me. It took him three weeks to wear me down, but he finally did and we¿ve spent the last eleven years together. He has always been twice as playful as most cats who are half his age, and he still is. The white tiger is Taj, a female Bengal who lived her life at the Columbus Zoo from April 15, 1985 until November 20, 2003. She had been socialized with humans, but not other tigers, and she was looking for a human to play the sibling/playmate role in her life. Incredibly, I was the one she chose. After I went along with her idea of stalking each other on opposite sides of the fence, her outpouring of emotion stunned me. After years of having no human friends to play with, she had a lifetime of affection stored up. Her affection displays were material for the lifetime highlights reel. The friendship she showed me was an incredible experience. I¿ve always been an animal lover, but being a buddy to a tiger had never been part of the plan. Thank go...Expand for more