A cat named Jerry arrived at T. F. Fox’s cafe at the corner of Court and Joralemon Streets in Brooklyn, New York, around 1879. He was thought to be two or three years old, having previously lived with undertaker Jacob M. Hopper until a larger black cat kicked him out. The cafe sat in the shadow of Brooklyn City Hall, and Jerry quickly made the civic center his territory. On Sundays and Mondays when the cafe was closed, Jerry would sit in the windows watching passersby. The rest of the week, he made scheduled rounds through the neighborhood with such precision that the locals could set their watches by him. Around 1903, Jerry started losing his teeth and his sight. Lucky for him, he had managed to make friends with Dr. Charles F. Hughes, an optician on Court Street. Hughes made a special pair of glasses for Jerry, giving him what The New York Times called “a certain quaint dignity.” On May 22, 1904, nearly blind Jerry was wandering the third floor of City Hall when he came upon the vacant office of Judge Almet F. Jenks. Papers on the judge's desk had managed to catch fire from what was reported to be a misplaced lit cigar. The judge, meanwhile, was across the street at the law library. Jerry rushed into the chambers and started to howl. Baliff Harry Staton knew something was wrong because Jerry never complained. He found the fire and alerted another officer, and together they attacked the flames with a fire extinguisher, preventing what could have been extensive damage to the building. By December 1904, age had finally caught up with Jerry. One night, he wandered from City Hall and disappeared into the winter darkness. For five months, the neighborhood held out hope, but in April 1905 it was discovered that he had passed away at a nearby subway construction site, close to the building he had guarded for so long. The New York Times ran his obituary and several of Jerry’s old friends paid tribute. Now, residents of Brooklyn are petitioning the city to have Jerry commemorated with a plaque or statue at Brooklyn City Hall.
