Growing up, my family had always been dog people. We had three dogs (two beagles and a German Shepherd) during my elementary school years, and they meant the whole world to young me. I had no blaring issues with cats, but dogs owned my heart because that’s all I was exposed to. Well, except for my grandma’s cat that would leave deep, bloody scratches on you if you tried to pet her. So, my experience with cats was less than ideal.
For three years, my family was petless. We moved across the country, and our housing wouldn’t allow us to have any pets, which was fine for the time being. However, I felt like there was a gaping hole where my dogs once were. We eventually moved (again), and I started my eighth grade year at an entirely new school in a new state.
Needless to say, it was really difficult. I left a really good school and friend group before the move, and I was having a hard time adjusting. My family thought that perhaps it was time to add a pet into our lives again. With our moderate sized town house and no backyard, the idea of a dog was quickly discarded. However, our attention was quickly shifted to a cat.
We began to search our local humane society website almost daily and even went to the shelter a few times to look. Eventually, our perfect cat fit appeared on the website. Sally was a black and white docile lap cat whose picture almost seemed to beg us to take her home. Without hesitation, my family immediately got in the car and drove to the humane society.
By the time we arrived, Sally was in the process of being adopted. I felt defeated: we dropped absolutely everything to get there in time, and our perfect cat was being adopted. My family decided to still walk around to see if any cats caught our eye before we left and continued our search virtually.
We walked into a large room full of declawed cats (called the “Furry Friends Room”, and we found her. This all black cat with a little white spot on her chest caught our attention.“Sebastian” was relaxed and easy-going but played with a toy on the floor when prompted and allowed us to brush her. She seemed like the perfect addition to our family, so we adopted her before she could be adopted from under our noses.
“Sebastian”, renamed Shadow, has been a part of my family for almost six years and I could not imagine my life without her. No matter what’s going on, Shadow always has to be in the middle of the room around everyone. Even as I am writing this, she is across from me asleep in the middle of the floor. She greets you when you come home by running straight to her food bowl, waiting to be fed even if she already has food in the bowl. Along with her love of food, she also has the incredible ability to lay down while she eats and practically falls asleep in her food bowl.
Adopting Shadow really made me understand the importance of adopting versus purchasing your pets. By adopting, you are able to give a pet a second chance when they otherwise would not have. Shadow was found declawed and stray, and I don’t know what would have happened to her if she were out on her own with no means to defend herself.
Rescue animals make some of the best pets, and I’m so grateful for my Shadow for showing me that. If you are looking to add a pet to your family anytime soon, I recommend taking a look through your local rescue organization or humane society. You never know who you will be able to find by adopting and not shopping.
