Opie -Founder The Wife -General Manager The Husband -Rodent Wrangler Hunky and Dorie - Official Mascots

Opie was considered to be the perfect cat. He used the scratching post rather than the furniture. He preferred the outdoors to the litterbox. He understood and heeded the word "No" the first time. But mostly he was considerate; he wanted to please. The Husband had found him wandering in the woods near his workplace, looking for his food dish, and brought him home in July 1995. Opie enjoyed the woods behind his new home and began bringing woodsy critters, unharmed, into the house, just to watch them run around. Tracking down Opie's many captures and returning them to the wild became a major project. Phase I Opie shared living quarters with two computer geeks (Husband and Wife), who attempted to control the project by returning the refugees to their original habitats. This ensured the perpetuity of the project. It was decided that a website listing Opie's captures might be fun, and it went live in June of 1998. Phase II Opie was joined by a young apprentice in 2000 (found in the same woods as Opie), a tortoiseshell/calico kitten named c.c., who quickly learned Opie's capture-and-release technique and all of Opie's other traits. c.c. eventually took over the project and Opie semi-retired to the leisurely life of a housecat. Opie was c.c.'s mentor and they were each other's best friends. But c.c. would eventually be taken by a serious infection and stroke before she was five. Opie missed his buddy. His outdoor time thereafter was spent mostly sunning himself on the deck, rather than chasing. The escapades of Opie and c.c. are Phase II of the Opie Project. Phase III The two newest members of the Project are Hunky and Dorie, a brother/sister act. They have been here since they were fourteen weeks old. They were shelter cats since they were born and lack the hunting and survival instincts of the formerly feral Opie and c.c., so they are confined to the indoors, which is fine with them. After living in cages all their young lives, having an entire house to run around in is paradise. So the days of chasing live critters has presumably passed. We lost Opie to kidney disease in March 2005. The perfect cat that launched a website will be greatly missed, but his website continues on with Phase III - the upbringing of Hunky and Dorie. So what will I find around this site? The site has three main areas; navigation icons appear throughout the site: The OPIEDATA is the official record of the Project. This icon takes you to a Hall of Fame Gallery. It features selected photos of Opie’s and c.c.'s captures This icon takes you to a log detailing all the Project’s critters since 1997. This icon will take you to OpieWorld. Includes pictures and descriptions of important landmarks within Opie's territorial perimeter. This icon is for the welcome page, when you first enter, and it is updated every day with new photos, birthday greetings, links to newly-updated pages and general nonsense. This icon takes you to the Foo (Friends Of Opie) Portrait Gallery, where you can ponder the precocious pets that have frequented this site. Instructions for submitting your own furry friends to this prestigious part of the Project are included. This icon takes you to the Opie Tribute page, with access to the archives covering Opie's solo (before c.c.) years 1998-2000 This icon takes you to the c.c. tribute page, with access to the archives covering the Opie & c.c. years together, 2000-2004   The PERTINENT INFO provides biographical data on the project’s charter members. This area is updated infrequently, when the occasional interesting tidbit comes to light. These icons takes you to the bio pages, and are only accessible from the notes pages (and here). They are (by color) Husband (green), Wife (yellow), Opie (orange), c.c. (small orange), Hunky (white) and Dorie (white).   The INTROSPECTION areas feature the members’ comments on the project and include facts, opinions and random babbling, During slow periods the random babbling can become excessive. This icon takes you to the Cats' notes. The Cats are observers of the human condition. This icon takes you to the Wife's notes. The Wife's writing is free form - depends on her mood du jour. This icon takes you to the Husband's notes. The Husband keeps notes in standard journal form; seems to think it's important. The notes can have very differing opinions on the same event. These areas are each updated approximately weekly (five times a month). You can view previous entries going back one year. The members tend to store unrelated files in random areas on the site as well, and these are accessible only through hidden links. If you are unable to locate these links, don’t worry; most of the hidden files can only be appreciated by the truly esoteric internet surfers, and the files change so often it's hard to keep track of what's there anyway. But they're fun when you find one. Where do I send e-mail? opieproject at hotmail dot com All e-mail will be read. Flamers and other dorks will be ignored. Responses will be made according to the following schedule: Really cool, creative and inventive e-mails will be responded to first. Sincere, honest and friendly e-mails will be responded to second. The mundane (“Saw your site, write”) will get a mundane response, eventually. Non-constructive pissers and moaners will get a form letter. Some day. Flamers will get what they deserve, if there is a God. Oh, yeah will bring you back here. Anytime. Just what is the O.P.I.E. Project? Opie began to bring home pets shortly after he discovered the woods. At first they were mice, but soon followed birds, frogs, toads, rabbits, and, on one occasion, a snake. None of these animals was harmed in any way. He just liked to watch them scurry around the house. The Husband and Wife were less amused. Locating, trapping and releasing Opie's pets became a major project (hence the name). A plan was devised for dealing with the influx of visitors, and the Project was born. See the OpieLog for details. How did he get them into the house? He had his own door at the back of the house so he could come and go as he pleased, without having to bother the Husband or Wife to be let in or out. Why not just block off the door? Opie had agreed that if he had free access to the outdoors, he would do his business there and not require a litterbox indoors. That was worth any aggravation. Why didn't they harm these animals? Dunno. Opie's been neutered; perhaps some ancient parenting instinct was triggered. He treated them like they were kittens - very gently - and c.c. always followed Opie's lead. Will Hunky and Dorie be pursuing critters? Hopefully not. They have never been exposed to the outdoors, nor have they had survival training from their natural mother. They would be babes in the woods, and in these woods that's not a comfortable arrangement. They are quite happy being housecats. For now. Wanna take the official Opie Survey? We'd like your visit here to be marked by more than just a number on a counter. A short and simple 9-question survey is available (why not? You've come this far) when you click here. Begin anywhere. Enjoy. OPIEDATA Hall of Fame OpieLog OpieWorld Today FOO PERTINENT INFO The Wife The Husband The Cats INTROSPECTION Cat Notes Wife Notes Husband Notes EGRESS Closing Credits