better together

I first met Wally at the Redlands animal shelter one morning in late October. It was a little over a month after the sudden and tragic loss of my first born (r.i.p. Pedro) and I didn't think I was in any kind of a place to love again, let alone adopt. The shelter, being about a minute and a half away from where I lived at the time, had become a frequent place for me to go when my spirits needed a boost or I just wanted to give and receive love.
I would go and visit the dogs mostly, but this day I decided to venture into the cat arena for a quick browse. Well, as soon as I walked past his cage, the three little kittens inside went crazy! They were all climbing over each other and sticking their paws out of the cage trying to get my attention. They were the loudest cage in the whole place and they were crying out "pick me! pick me!". I couldn't resist picking them up. The first one was cool but he had a funky eye issue and the second one- well there just wasn't really very much of a connection with her.

Then there was Walrus. The best looking of the three, he had big bright eyes, the fluffiest of tails, and mischeiviousness written all over him.
I picked him up and he just purred. He melted my heart.

He looked at me like "Are you my mother?" and I knew I was.