A friend at any age

When I was young, all I could think about was adopting every single animal possible. This list included; dogs, cats, rats, pigs, monkeys, bunnies, birds, snakes, hedgehogs, iguanas, and the list could just go on and on. After begging every single day, my parents finally gave in and got us a puppy. She was one of my greatest companions, she was our whole family's greatest companion really. My parents allowed me to have a hamster and then another one after that one died tragically. And then, came Maple.

Maple was a cat that we believe our old neighbors had owned. But they moved away and left her there, abandoned with no collar and no sign of coming back. When she came to us, it was my dad who found her first. He was sitting in his car, on the phone, when he heard this extremely loud and urgent meowing. He was surprised to have heard it through his car and over the sound of the phone call. Pretty soon he hung up and got out to see what was going on. There, standing by his car in our garage was our Maple. She was severely thin and emaciated. She was hungry. My dad, being an animal lover himself, hurried to our front door to call our mom out. She brought out some water, tuna, and a little cheese. My little sister and I scurried outside to see what was going on. To our excitement, we saw a pretty cat and we just wanted to pet her. Our parents were a little wary of us touching her at first. But eventually, they allowed it and made us wash our hands quickly after.

Maple would continue to come back each day and every time, my sister and I pleaded with our parents to keep her. With time, Maple got more comfortable with us and started to stay in our garage. Then, we took her inside one cold winter night. Our dog was curious about her and over time they began to be friends. My parents took Maple to the vet to see if she had a chip or anything and then to get her a checkup so that she could live with us. It wasn't until about a year after we got her that Maple became my best friend. Before this, we got a miniature pinscher that had been rescued from a puppy mill. When I saw her, I knew I needed her. She was so quiet and skittish. My mom gave in when she saw the way the dog acted around me. She was 4 years old when we got her and we named her Sophie. When we brought her home, we took her to the backyard so she could go to the restroom but when she set foot on the grass, she freaked out. She kept picking her paws up really high each time she moved. We came to realize that the poor thing had never been on grass before. It took time for her to become more comfortable with us. Soon, we found that she likes to bark... a lot. But she has gotten a little bit better over the years. Sophie would sleep with me every night for a while. Eventually, though, she took a liking to my younger sister and started hanging out in her room more often. This was okay though because around this time was when I started to realize that I am a cat person.

I began hanging out with Maple more, just petting her and play with her. She would jump up on my chair and sit with me when I was eating or doing homework. She rarely went upstairs but when she did she would come to find me. She loved the Christmas tree and every Christmas season, that is indefinitely where you could find her. She was very talkative and would wake the whole house up in the mornings around 6 AM with her deep meows. She was and still is the loudest cat I've ever met. She never failed to let someone know if she was out of food or if the water bowl was low. I loved her purring. She always purred when she was by my side. Maple made me very happy. She was my buddy.

You don't have to get a cat from kitten for it to become your friend. This goes for all pets. If you treat your pet well and give them love, you'll have a companion for life. Maple was already around 8-10 years old when we saved her and the time we had together was enough to create a lasting bond. Sophie was 4 when we adopted her and she too has been able to form loving relationships with our family. I know some people are going to want to get pets from a young age so that they can grow up with them but animals can grow even if they are older. When you can, please, adopt, don't shop. Every animal deserves a chance to be loved and cared for, even if they only have a few years left on them. I learned that at a pretty young age. They don't care what age you are, they don't care where you're from, they don't care about your background, so why should you?