Stray 2 Stay

When it comes to animal adoption stories, I have quite a few of them. However, to keep it short and brief, I'm going to discuss a story about a stray cat that we took in named "Snow". So this will indeed will be a snow story. Before I begin, I think it would do great justice to start with how my love for animals began, how it's going, and what I plan to do with it. I hope this read will encourage you to adopt a pet too one day.

My animal journey began years ago when I was growing up. I was considered the nerdy kid because, besides the cartoons, I also watched an equal or greater amount of animal shows. Those shows include things like Discovery, WTTW, Nature, Animal Planet, Pratt Brothers, etc. Wherever there are animals, I was there. Even during field trips to the zoo, I was the one taking mental notes about every fact that I could find about it. This also started showing up in how I played as a kid. Being a kid, you have such a good curiosity and innocence to the world before there were jobs, due dates, and responsibilities. I was in my world then. I didn’t worry about school because everyone went! I shined best when it came to animals. I remember that as a kid, I played with toys but then animals became my new "toys". These "toys' were indeed alive and I had to be careful just in case if one decided to bite or sting. When I was little, I remember starting with simple things like worms. Then came spiders and other creepy crawlers. Then it was birds, cats, fish, etc. In one part of my life, we even had a "snake" spot, in which we caught a lot of garden snakes of all sizes and ages. And of course, as boys, we traded them, made them fight, etc. Same with the bugs and spiders. It taught me some life skills such as research, responsibility, care, and most importantly freedom. Animals taught me a lot about freedom too. Free animals are considered wild only because they have no guidance or instruction by humans. Which means they revert to their original ways of life. One thing is for certain, whether the animal is male or female, once wild, will always be wild. Keeping that in mind, I realized that if I was to adopt a stray animal, I need to be sensitive about it because it came from a wild place. Whether that’s from an irresponsible owner or an abusive/neglectful owner, that is a trauma for them. I learned that if you stress an animal or provoke it, it may hurt you simply because it’s either stressed or trying to protect itself. Now that you know some of my animal history and background, let's move into "Snow's" story.

Before it was a "snow' we had a "tiger". Tiger was the name given to our former cat maybe about a few years ago. He was dark orange and white cat. My mother raised him since he was a kitten. We loved him because he was different. However, as new pet owners, we didn’t realize the importance of pet care! We then started noticing around his private area it started to turn black. Unfortunately, he did not survive much longer after that. It was due to an infection that he developed but we had no experience with how to treat it. My family was sad. Sad because we lost one of our members. But no one was sadder than my mother. Mothers have a unique way of attaching themselves to things. When our cat died, a little part of my mom died too. Due to that experience, we didn't consider another pet for a while. Then one day, my girlfriend at the time adopted a cat. His name is Sammie. She still has him to this day. One of my earliest memories of Sammie was when he had to get him shots! We did not have the proper warming kit and we had to wrap him up in a blanket. We walked from where was to at least a good few blocks before our destination. We attended a pet workshop through PAWS. From there, he was able to get his proper shots and vaccination. It is interesting because, on that day, I felt like a parent. I see now the responsibility of pet ownership. It is quite similar to having a kid. Although I was cold, I felt good in my heart knowing that I've done a good service for Sammie and Tiger.

As I continue along with my pet journey, another furry friend came along. He was a tall black kitten. We called him "Jr" because he looked like another cat. So, I ended up giving him to my aunt. I figured they would be blessed enough to keep him around. And at the time, he gave their family peace. Fast forward, I have no idea where he is today. That only reason is that since he's an "outside" cat, his nature is outside. With that being said, I hope one day that he will come back to us. If we haven't seen him already. Since there are multiple cats in my neighborhood. But that is due because of the kindness of one lady's heart. I call her "cat-lady" only because I don't know her real name yet. However, I don't need to know her name because I know her by the impact that she brings. Across the street from my house, there is this house that I call "the cat house". You will see cats. Yes, Mr. and Ms. Cat live there too. I have also seen how she got blessed through her kindness. More cats more food! She used to drive like this mini-van but now she has a white pick-up truck!. And the cats know when she comes because all of them head towards the car! Once she's greeted by the cats, she then goes and feeds them and shows them, love. And she is faithful to this kind of work. That’s why I feel that if we had more people like her to care for animals, we wouldn’t see them as ordinary.

Lastly, which leads up to our newest furry friend named "Snow". Snow got her name because she came to us in mid-February. My family calls her Winter, but snow I feel is better. She came to us strangely by climbing on our window and meowing to seek attention. She still does this to this day when she needs attention. I'm still learning about snow, however. Since she's "new" to us, I'm sure she was once owned because she has a pink collar on. It's almost coincidental because, at that same time, I recently purchased my pet store. But I will get into that towards the end. Some time has passed now and I believe that she is pregnant. This means that she may or may not have kittens only because it was an estimate. This is great because now others can share the experience. In terms of pregnancy, my aunts’ neighbor’s dog recently had puppies. I'm not sure the full procedure of the pups, but hopefully, I can have one and leave her at my friends’ house to help raise her. Either way, maybe it’s one of my callings to work/serve animals. Given that I'm naturally doing those things anyway! This is just a short of what to come. I hope it will be worth it in the end. An act of kindness always goes a long way!

To conclude, I have given you all my furry journey. How I once was, I was into everything that moved. Currently, as mentioned that desire hasn’t changed. I have received endless blessings and goodness for being kind to animals. I even purchased my pet store. This store is unique because it’s a Shopify pre-made store. So everything is already included. I just have to finish the course. That I will schedule to have the store up and running by late spring/early summer! What I plan to do with this would be to expand upon it, market it, add it to my business portfolio, and allow those to be great pet owners. New products are managed and updated. So, whatever your pet needs are, I hope I can solve them. The best part, all products will be shipped to you!!! Let's make America furry again!!!