I remember walking down a skinny hall with ugly blue tiles. The lights were dull and occasionally flickered. It reminded me of Nightmare On Elm Street, when the main character was trapped in her High School’s creepy basement. “I would hate living here,” my young brother told me. And I agreed with him, living here would be horrible. We were squished together into a small room filled with shiny metal cages. In each of these ice cold crates were cats. Most of them were black and looked old, with balding ears and matted fur. My heart stung with pain looking at these poor animals, I wanted to take all of them with me. I knew we would have trouble finding a cat that would get along with our German Shepherd-Golden Retriever, Teddy. We walked from cage to cage searching for a cat who wouldn't mind Teddy. Eventually we came across a skinny calico kitten with glittering green eyes. She had the tiniest face and a little pink nose. I instantly fell in love with this kitten. Right away I took her delicate body out of the cold metal cage, and she nestled right into my arms. My whole body warmed up from the little furry creature. She was so calm, despite living in a facility filled with angry, loud dogs. The kitten would not stop purring when I was holding her.
           “I think she really likes you,” my Mom had said with a soft voice, to not frighten the animal.
I carefully put her back in the cage and then the begging began. “Please Mom, she’s so adorable. We really need to adopt her. Please!” my siblings and I pleaded. I remember my Mom laughing then telling us to wait with the cat while she went to the front desk. I couldn't hear what she was saying but the woman at the desk was smiling and handed her some papers to fill out. Eventually my Mom had come back with a big grin on her face. “Okay you guys, we are adopting this kitten.” I felt my entire body jump with excitement, I had wanted a kitten for so long and now we were adopting one. I remember my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but I didn't mind. That was one of the best days of my life and we still have the little calico cat today. She is now one and a half, and her name is Mia.  Rescuing Mia has made me feel better about my life. I used to be upset when coming home from having to deal with obnoxious, petty kids at school. But now I’m happy when I walk up to house and see her little face peeking out of the window, waiting for me to come inside. This cat doesn't solve all of my problems, but she makes it easier to cope with them. I can’t imagine not having the scruffy ball of fluff to keep me company.