Regina Clark, owner of both Goldie and the dance school she’ s made her home, reports that the calico is quite the curious cat, wandering into the homes of Clark’ s neighbors to mew a little hello if they happen to leave their doors open.
Goldie makes a habit of sleeping in the school’ s front-facing window, especially on sunny days, where she can enjoy a bit of people watching with the pedestrians of Downtown Tifton who happen to pass by. spotlight, which was proven true once she adopted her own kitten a short time later and prompted Goldie’ s relocation to the studio to have more space to call her own.
“ We would let her stay in the studio when it was really cold or nasty— weather raining a lot, she doesn’ t like wind,” Clark said.“ And after two weeks of that kitten, she moved herself over to the studio!”
The backlot of the school opens to the back of the Clark residence, giving Goldie the freedom to go between the two as she pleases during the day, including sunning herself in the open space between and visiting the neighbors if they happen to leave their doors open. Clark has, however, done her best to keep her cat away from the Tift Theatre next door, worried that if Goldie ever somehow found her way in there, she would never be able to find her.
While that curious, exploratory nature has unfortunately kept her from joining the dance school’ s students at events for similar reasons, she certainly remains with them in spirit.
Even Clark has come to view Goldie as a school mascot, content that she’ s grown comfortable in the studio and has been so loved and accepted by its students.
For the 40 or so years that Regina’ s School of Dance has been in operation, Goldie’ s time there might as well be a drop in the bucket, but for Regina Clark and the students of the studio, it’ s clear that her presence has left quite the lasting impression.
16 TiftonScene | JULY 2025