Milton's life started out like too many other dogs' and cats' lives in our region: unwanted. On July 28, 2003, a runner was making his morning trek over Savannah's Talmadge Bridge when he heard what he thought was a crying baby. He looked over the giant bridge's guardrails and saw a tiny, injured kitten.

Although we'll never know exactly how this kitten found himself clinging to the edge of a giant bridge, our best guess is that he was thrown from a car, fortunately missing his owner's likely target--the Savannah River. No signs of littermates could be found. The jogger carried the little kitten home and called an animal-friendly co-worker, who took the kitten in, nursed him back to health, and named him Milton.

Whether our assumption about Milton's beginnings are entirely correct or not, we know that unwanted pets are too often the victims of cruel "disposal" tactics. Prevention of unwanted litters, i.e. spaying and neutering, is the only solution.