This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!
Back in 2011, I had just bought my first house and was settling in with my nine-month-old kitten, Jinx. Jinx was lonely and bored while I was at work, so I decided it was time to find her a friend. I went to my local cat rescue looking for a young female kitten who could match Jinx’s energy.
Claire Bryans
There were no kittens available that day. As I walked around, I noticed a fully grown black-and-white cat yelling at the glass of his enclosure, doing everything he could to get attention. I couldn’t walk past him. I asked if I could see the male cat named Laddie.
When Laddie was placed in my arms, he rubbed his head against my face and purred like a motorbike idling. I was in love. He refused to go back into his enclosure, clearly determined to come home with me. He had been found straying in Belfast and, after being neutered, was up for adoption. So I adopted him. He wasn’t a kitten. He wasn’t female. But he was everything I didn’t realize I needed.
Claire Bryans
I brought him home a week later and renamed him Jasper Doodles. Although Jinx was frightened at first, they soon became best friends. Jasper was affectionate and chatty, and he learned to jump onto my shoulders. He wanted to be as close to me as possible at all times.
He stood by me through life’s highs and lows — going back to university to study nursing, losing my aunt who had been like a mother to me, and living in a mobile home for a year while we renovated my late aunt’s farmhouse into our home. We faced many changes together — Jinx, Jasper, and me.
Claire Bryans
In September 2011, Jasper became dull and lost his appetite. The vet found a mass in his intestines, and he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Given his age — at least 16 — and his ongoing skin allergies, I chose palliative care so he could enjoy his remaining time without stressful car rides and vet visits, which he hated.
We had just over three months after his diagnosis. During that time, he enjoyed the garden, warmed his belly by the fire, ate as many treats as he could manage, slept under the duvet with me, and received all the love and cuddles a cat could want. When it was time, I stayed with him until the very end. He left this world knowing how deeply he was loved.
Claire Bryans
I miss him dearly, as does Jinx. But we are left with so many beautiful memories from our years together. Even now, with a broken heart, if I could go back to 2011, I would adopt my Jasper Doodles again without a second thought. He was the best boy, a faithful friend, and I was honored to be his mum.
SHARE YOUR OWN RESCUE STORY
Story submitted by Claire Bryans.
This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!
