Eight years ago in August, I went to the shelter to walk dogs. I was asked by the staff to look out for a cat that had gotten away as it was being brought in to be surrendered. As I walked the first dog, I heard a bird-like cry. I brought the dog back and told them I may have heard the cat they were looking for. It took me a few attempts of going down the path and into the ferns before I came upon a small orange and white circle. I wasn't even sure it was alive. I picked up a tiny little kitten whose eyes were not even open. By the time I carried the kitten back to the shelter, I had named it Destiny, for I had thought it was destined to live. As it turned out, this was not the kitten the staff was looking for, and not evens a girl. I quickly nicknamed him Desi. We decided he must have been in the box with the other kittens left outside the shelter the night before. How he ended up in the woods no one knows. For the next couple of months, he was fostered with the other kittens by a shelter staff member, who called him Lucky Charm. It seemed ages before I saw him again and could finally take him home. Now, wherever I am, this little cat (not so little anymore) always quietly shows up and lies down beside me. Eight years later, Desi is lucky and happy to be alive. The staff said I saved his life.

Wendy Bruso
Jamaica, VT