Last year, I had to write a paper saying what I wanted to do to change the world in some way. This is the paper I wrote, and I wanted to share it with you guys
. I have rescued more after writing this paper... *pictures of them at the bottom of this post*
Its Better To Have Loved Then To Have Never Loved At All
By Felicia
One thing I have done and plan to do more of in the future to help make the world a better place is helping stray animals. Many people breed animals without proper education and others dont have the money or just dont feel like spaying or neutering their pets. Because of this, many unwanted animals are born. Most of these unwanted animals are then put in shelters or put out on the streets.
The first stray my family took in was Manton (more known as Manny) a chocolate Labrador Retriever. My grandpa found him roaming on his 100+ acres in Manton, Michigan. We called the shelters in the area and talked to the neighbors to see if anyone was missing him. My grandpa was going to take him to the shelter, but my family had come to the decision that we wanted to keep him. And I am so glad that we did. Manton was a very lovable and loving dog. Manny lived for nine wonderful years with my family. He is missed greatly.
Sampson (more known as Sammy) came to me through my cousin. He lived for around six years in a trailer park in Shelby Township, Michigan. When he was a kitten he had owners who took care of him, but when he was around one year old, his owners moved and left him to live on the streets. After my cousin telling me about him, I talked to my parents and they decided to let me take him in. My aunt and cousin caught him and I met them to then bring him home. Sammy was very big boned and extremely tall. He had lost almost all of his muscle mass and I could feel every bone on him. Amazingly, Sammy, with no fat or muscle, managed to weigh twenty pounds (which is about twice as much as a healthy normal sized cat). He was covered in fleas, urine, mud, and car oil. The first two things he got when we got home was food and a bath. He is the first cat I have ever had that really enjoyed getting a bath. Sadly, I only got to have Sammy, the huge lovable cat, for about five days. He had FIV and Feline Leukemia (both diseases are incurable and contagious). When we found out he had these diseases, Sampson had to be put to sleep.
The next stray I took in was a kitten. I decided to name her Sophie. She was about 5-6 weeks old when she found my dad. She came to the kennel, when it was in the process of being built. She was begging for attention from the workers putting up the drywall. My dad saw her and took her out of the kennel, due to being scared one of the drywall installers would hurt her. A couple minutes she came back in to the kennel to find my dad, determined to get someone to love her. My dad picked her up and carried her to the house. I will never forget my dad calling for me and walking up to him and seeing her cute little face. He handed her to me and told me to fix her up. I gave her food and a much needed bath. After that she went to the vet, when we found out she was extremely inbred and sick. After months of trying to figure out what she had, we finally found out that she had an incurable and very contagious disease, FIP. Sophie had to be put to sleep after the FIP had taken away her quality of life. She wasnt even six months old.
There are so many good animals that dont have a loving home and if they dont get one fast enough they will be put to sleep. Some people dont want to take in strays because of stories like Sammy and Sophie. Even though its hard to love an animal that you might have to put to sleep, I believe its worth it. I know that I did all I could do for those two cats. And instead of them dying on the street all alone, they got to know what its like to be loved. After having to put these two animals to sleep, my dad reminded me that, Its better to have loved then to have never loved at all. Im glad I got them, even if it was only for five days or a couple months. Yes, it was very heart breaking, but it was definitely worth it. In the future, I hope to give more strays a loving home, to help educate people on how important it is to spay and neuter their pets, and I also plan on donating my time to local shelters.
^Manton
^Manny smiling
^Sampson (my one and only picture of him)
^Sophie
Sophie with her best friend Lucy. They were inseparable. Lucy was always staying with her and helping her around until Sophie passed away.
Its Better To Have Loved Then To Have Never Loved At All
By Felicia
One thing I have done and plan to do more of in the future to help make the world a better place is helping stray animals. Many people breed animals without proper education and others dont have the money or just dont feel like spaying or neutering their pets. Because of this, many unwanted animals are born. Most of these unwanted animals are then put in shelters or put out on the streets.
The first stray my family took in was Manton (more known as Manny) a chocolate Labrador Retriever. My grandpa found him roaming on his 100+ acres in Manton, Michigan. We called the shelters in the area and talked to the neighbors to see if anyone was missing him. My grandpa was going to take him to the shelter, but my family had come to the decision that we wanted to keep him. And I am so glad that we did. Manton was a very lovable and loving dog. Manny lived for nine wonderful years with my family. He is missed greatly.
Sampson (more known as Sammy) came to me through my cousin. He lived for around six years in a trailer park in Shelby Township, Michigan. When he was a kitten he had owners who took care of him, but when he was around one year old, his owners moved and left him to live on the streets. After my cousin telling me about him, I talked to my parents and they decided to let me take him in. My aunt and cousin caught him and I met them to then bring him home. Sammy was very big boned and extremely tall. He had lost almost all of his muscle mass and I could feel every bone on him. Amazingly, Sammy, with no fat or muscle, managed to weigh twenty pounds (which is about twice as much as a healthy normal sized cat). He was covered in fleas, urine, mud, and car oil. The first two things he got when we got home was food and a bath. He is the first cat I have ever had that really enjoyed getting a bath. Sadly, I only got to have Sammy, the huge lovable cat, for about five days. He had FIV and Feline Leukemia (both diseases are incurable and contagious). When we found out he had these diseases, Sampson had to be put to sleep.
The next stray I took in was a kitten. I decided to name her Sophie. She was about 5-6 weeks old when she found my dad. She came to the kennel, when it was in the process of being built. She was begging for attention from the workers putting up the drywall. My dad saw her and took her out of the kennel, due to being scared one of the drywall installers would hurt her. A couple minutes she came back in to the kennel to find my dad, determined to get someone to love her. My dad picked her up and carried her to the house. I will never forget my dad calling for me and walking up to him and seeing her cute little face. He handed her to me and told me to fix her up. I gave her food and a much needed bath. After that she went to the vet, when we found out she was extremely inbred and sick. After months of trying to figure out what she had, we finally found out that she had an incurable and very contagious disease, FIP. Sophie had to be put to sleep after the FIP had taken away her quality of life. She wasnt even six months old.
There are so many good animals that dont have a loving home and if they dont get one fast enough they will be put to sleep. Some people dont want to take in strays because of stories like Sammy and Sophie. Even though its hard to love an animal that you might have to put to sleep, I believe its worth it. I know that I did all I could do for those two cats. And instead of them dying on the street all alone, they got to know what its like to be loved. After having to put these two animals to sleep, my dad reminded me that, Its better to have loved then to have never loved at all. Im glad I got them, even if it was only for five days or a couple months. Yes, it was very heart breaking, but it was definitely worth it. In the future, I hope to give more strays a loving home, to help educate people on how important it is to spay and neuter their pets, and I also plan on donating my time to local shelters.
^Manton
^Manny smiling
^Sampson (my one and only picture of him)
^Sophie
Sophie with her best friend Lucy. They were inseparable. Lucy was always staying with her and helping her around until Sophie passed away.
