I have had pets my whole life, dogs, cats, ferrets and fish! I got my first dog that was all mine (and my responsibility) when I was six years old, his name is Coco, a chocolate lab who is now 15 years old and still the happiest, sweetest boy! When I was 10 years old I got a ferret who unfortunately had cancer, so his later years were spent with me making him special food and administering medication, occasionally even IV fluids as my parents are nurses and have gifted me with a vast knowledge when it comes to the field of medicine. When I was around 16-17 I took in a mommy cat, her older kitten and four new kittens (all about 5 weeks old), as someone dumped them in front of my grandparents’ home and they could no longer care for them, Fall was turning to Winter and I couldn’t leave them, so I converted my room into a place for them to stay until I could find them permanent homes. Unfortunately after contacting every animal/cat rescue in the area, it was clear that no one had space for them, so it became my job to care for them, ween them, take them for many vet visits as they were all stray and eaten up with parasites, along with needing their initial and booster shots, and then finding them permanent, loving homes. I am happy to say that I found homes for mommy cat and three of the young kittens, the fourth was so sick with parasites that the vet wasn’t sure he’d survive, and the person I had lined up to take him backed out, however he has a happy home with us and his name is Bitty! The older kitten (who was pretty much an adult cat by that point, although severely malnourished) bonded with me very closely, so she became my cat who has since lived with me in several other places before we settled back down here, her name is Jiji! All of our pets are rescues, but another one of my personal rescues is our cat Sinhamu (which means lion in Swahili!) Many of the houses/neighborhoods here border on miles of crop fields, which unfortunately means a lot of coyotes. Growing up I had several of my friends and neighbors lose pets due to this fact, so when a little orange kitten showed up all alone at our house one day, after checking with all the neighbors to make sure he wasn’t theirs, I couldn’t in good conscience leave him out there on his own. He was a very scared little guy, and it took a lot to catch him and even more to gain his trust, but I worked with him every single day and night and we became very close. He is now a very people-oriented cat who loves to sit and sleep with anyone and everyone, he’s also very vocal and talks to himself all the time, which we think is pretty funny. My last personal rescue is our Pit Bull/American Bulldog named Dolly (after Dolly Parton, a personal hero of mine). We took her in after a coworker of my father’s rescued her and her siblings from a puppy mill, she was around 6 weeks old at the time, cute as can be but a little troublemaker! My father works as an ER nurse, so taking care of her was my job, but I love animals to bits so it was a treat for me. My room was upstairs so every day I had to carry her up and down the stairs until she was old (and brave) enough to tackle the stairs, I lined my room’s floor with puppy pads that she ate/shredded every day, we got her in Winter so I had to keep her in little sweaters to keep her bundled up and warm, and she was a little gremlin who chewed up/destroyed everything in sight but I loved every minute of it and we are still best buds to this day! I also often take my aunt and grandparents’ pets to the vet for them and come over to either take them out or bathe them. I’ve been a volunteer at animal shelters before, I am very passionate about animals in every way, shape and form. I would love to be a dog groomer, vet tech or even veterinarian one day, animals have been one of the most important parts of my life for my entire life and I believe that being around them, helping them, loving them and caring for them is healing for the soul.