Bold Strokes In Panic Over Missing Proprietor

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The Bold Strokes Petting Zoo has been in a state of high alert since just yesterday, when its beloved owner and philanthropist Albert Furkin mysteriously vanished while doing his routine midnight clean-out of the zoo's Freshwater Wildcat habitat, leaving nothing behind but all of his clothes (neatly folded) and his one-gallon bucket of Certified Wildcat Fodder. For those who haven't heard of it, Bold Strokes is famous in San Isidoro for its diverse collection of different highly-tactile animals, consisting of over fifty-eight species of Wildcat and nothing else! When Mike was still around he would take me there every Friday during his extended lunch break and walk me around so we could touch the animals. But, as many of you know, my dear Mikey is no longer with us and that serves as a great loss to this fair town in general and me in specific.

Mike was beloved by visitors and employees alike, because of his devotion to and great love for the many beautiful species of Wildcats in his establishment. One employee The Conversationalist approached for comment had this to say:

"Mr. Furkin admired many things about the Wildcats- Their poise, their grace, their ability to fly, to swim, to foster young, to secrete [CENSORED], just to name a few. Every time he'd talk about them, you'd always see this glimmer in those eyes of his, all the way behind those old wire-rim glasses he always wore. I hope we find him soon enough!"

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Anyway, the zoo still remains open during this time of great crisis - Visitors can still come down and see some of its more famous occupants like the Freshwater Wildcats, Open-Plain Wildcats, Aquatic Sonar Wildcats, Brown Befurred Wildcats (pictured above), Black-White Striped Wildcats, Winged Hovering Wildcats and more! Sadly enough, Mike will no longer be around to see them with me.

Finally, fans of stroking boldly might want to keep their eyes open in the next few days as a newly erected steel enclosure has appeared, seemingly overnight in the far end of the zoo, coinciding vaguely with the time of Mr. Furkin's disappearance, though this likely has absolutely nothing to do with that. The world is full of incomprehensible incidents like this, like when it decided to cruelly take my Mike in the prime of our lives and leave nothing behind but a deep, uncaring, void- A hungering hole that cannot be filled. Most employees swear they know nothing about the new construction, but this is likely because they have been sworn to secrecy about the surely thrilling contents of this new exhibit. A small sign posted outside the venue offers a clue, though, reading:

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Introducing The Undiscovered 59th Wildcat Species: The Bipedal Bespectacled Wildcat! Claw-ming Soon!

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I, for one, cannot wait - For this big reveal, and also for the cold unassuming grasp of death that will one day quietly take me in my sleep so I can finally be reunited with my beloved Mike. Until then, see you on the other side.

McKenzie Ewalds (Formerly Sanchez) of The Conversationalist