Twenty-Five Dollars

Oh man, do I ever have a story to tell about my cat named Steve. We always had a strict no-pet policy growing up. Gerbil? Nope. Cat? Nope. Dog? Nope. We did have a few pet fish in a large tank for a while until they all somehow mysteriously died. My stepfather was not a fan of animals unless they could be outside on the farm.

Growing up on the farm, we had used to be given unloved cats from the SPCA. You know, those loveable furballs that just couldn't find homes anywhere else. Specifically, I remember one cat named MiFi. She used to drool everywhere when you would pet her. She had been returned to the SPCA a few times before she was sent to live with us.

One of the best memories I have from during my childhood is when my mother and I bought my first pet, a dog named Grace. She was just a puppy, but we went behind my stepfather's back. It was one of our greatest adventures together, deciding to adopt a family pet. To keep it a secret, my mother only spent twenty-five dollars in total and we drove well out of our way to pick the dog up from a large farmyard. She was worried that the first dog I had chosen might have been sick, she swapped her behind my back. I never noticed because I was so excited about getting my very first pet!

I adored our grey mixed-breed terrier. I named her Grace. I was thrilled with the idea of having my very own pet for the first time in my life. My stepdad, however, was not so thrilled about the extra responsibilities of having a larger household pet. He used to refer to Grace as "Mutt" which always drove me a little batty.

Just shortly before my 14th birthday, Grace passed away from heart complications. I remember that my parents had gifted me my first cellphone that day. The news of Grace's death broke my heart. I think they thought the phone would distract me from her death, but they were mistaken. Well I mean, it did work for a little while. I still had our furry farm cat friends to keep me company. Like Mifi, the Queen of Drool.

My parent's divorce gave me the bravery I needed to adopt my own pet again. After they split up, my mother adopted a dog named Rudy from our local SPCA. I had begged her to no end for a cat instead of Mr. Rudy. Trust me, I actually was fine with it after a little time. She needed her companion after my parents got a divorce.

Rudy was returned to the SPCA a few times for bad behavior, a story that remains to be said for a different time. But during that time period in my life, I fell head over heels in love with this beautiful grey kitten. I scooped her up and never let go. Just guess how much money I spent? You guessed it, only twenty-five dollars. I was not allowed to have a cat at my mother's house so that day was a huge milestone for me in stepping into my independence. I had named her Steve, solely because my comfort show has always been American Dad. She was supposed to be a boy. That's why her name was Steve.

I had created a space for my new little friend in my basement and managed to hide her within the house for three days until my mom caught us both red-handed. (Both of us being me and the cat.) It was not so easy hiding Steve away from Rudy it turned out. My mother and I can manage to laugh about it now, but she was so mad at the time. However, Steve filled a hole in my heart that I did not know was still there from Grace's passing.

That twenty-five-dollar cat created a very important lesson for me. You always have to become responsible for the choices you make. I ended up finding out that Steve was a boy the hard way. Please take it from me, disobeying your parents is never a good thing.. in this case, I seemed to have disobeyed Mr. Rudy more than anything. I think it's fair to say, you should not disobey your parents, unless you have a really good reason to. Steve was my reason to disobey my mother and my lesson in responsible pet ownership choices. Make sure you love your pets while they are still with you.

With all of that being said, I honestly cannot wait for the day that my children decide to bring home their very own twenty-five-dollar lesson in responsibility.

Chloe Rose Violet

Don't forget to tip your writer. :)