Acree guard cat dies at age 25

BY LAURA HEWELL
THE TOCCOA RECORD
    Ben the cat, a communitywide celebrity whose day and night job was being a guard at Acree Oil Company on Currahee Street, died recently.
    He was 25-years old and a well-loved member of the Acree Oil family, his co-workers said.
     Ben and his brother, Jerry, were found by the Acree Oil door on a Saturday back in 1998 by employee Joe Sewell.
     He fed them and when he came to work on Monday they were still there and they remained there  for the rest of their lives.
    Unfortunately, Jerry was hit by a car and killed about two years after he and his sibling showed up for work that first day.
     Ben was “spoiled rotten” by everyone that worked at Acree Oil or was a customer, co-workers said.
    He is buried in the flower bed out in front of the shop so he can keep on doing what he did best – “guarding” the shop.