This summer we tried to save a stray kitten. We've been taking care of a sweet one eyed feral cat we've named Isabella. She has two kittens that she hides near by and we've been feeding her as often as possible. Another stray kitten down the street got caught in a gutter drain and after I rescued her I had decided to bring her into our home. My cat of 14 years, Sasha, had breast cancer and I think I knew her time was limited. The little stray we found looked like her, what with black spots. I fell in love. Another neighbor had been feeding the kittens mother and had taken the kitten for a few nights. Long story short, when Kajal and I went to pick up the kitten one day the neighbor told us she'd let the kitten go back with the mother. The neighbor knew we were adopting her but made a choice that about broke our hearts. Here we were committed to saving this kitten and instead, she'd be roaming the streets foraging for food. For some reason, the loss of that little kitten left me so incredibly sad, it was hard to snap out of.

One of the hardest things about living down South is the animals we see daily, killed in the road. Wild animals, racoons, armadillos, squirrels... cats and dogs. Every time I see one, I slow down the car to see if their still alive, if there is anyway to save them...but they never are, there never is. Within days of losing the kitten, Kajal and I were driving down the street and I saw a small black and white kitten, killed, in the middle of the road. I started sobbing. Poor Kajal was totally terrified... Mom, what's wrong? She'd never seen me cry like that.

My mother saw an ad in the paper for Cavalier puppies and knowing that I'd always planned on getting another one (we have my tri-colored Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Logan), she suggested we take a drive to look at them. Silly. You never 'look' at puppies... you look, you get.

And we did.

A little Ruby Cavalier we named Amber. She is adorable, fiesty and an absolute love. I remember when I first brought Kajal home from India she's had no exposure to domesticated animals. She was terrified of them. She used to scream when that cats came close to her.  Now, she begs me to adopt any animal we meet that is 'without a family'. They need us mommy, we have room, they need a family to love them and we have love to give!

Our cat, Sasha passed away a few weeks ago. We cried together, we mourned. We miss her... she used to sleep on Kajal's pillow every night, watching over her. Before Kajal came, she slept on mine.

But now, we take care of strays and we chase our puppy, Amber around the house to keep her from peeing everywhere.

If you ring the door bell to our home the three dogs come running (Logan, Amber and my mothers Papillion pup Zoey) and the cats (Salem and Serena) meow in the distance, Kajal will yell out a happy hello and my mother and I laugh in the background.

Life is crazy, life is good.



Kajal meeting Amber for the first time... she needs us Mommy! She needs us to give her a home! And so we did.


Ambers first night home...

How cute is she?

Amber meeting her new big brother

Kajal's smile says it all...