Olivia’s Memoir: Hailey

Olivia Parcells

Mr. Jockers

Period 8 ILA

Feb.10, 2017

Hailey

“I really like this one in the front!”

I found the perfect one!

It was a cold winter day 3 months after my 6th birthday. The only thing I wanted was a cat.

“Are you ready?” my dad asked.

“Yup,” I said with excitement, already getting out of the car.

“Are you sure you want one?” My mom asks me with a unsure tone in her voice. I could tell that she was more of a dog person.  

“Yup” I say again with my mind made up.

I walked into the cat shelter with my parents strolling right behind me, not knowing what to expect, hoping that I would find the perfect one. Right when I walked into the shelter I smelled a strong scent of cat litter. I was shocked about the number the cages around me. There were almost 50 cages. Each cage had one or two cats in them. My eyes went straight to one. The first cat I saw in the first cage, right when I walked into the shelter was the one I wanted. I ran over to her peering into the cage. She was a little kitten crammed in the corner looking right at me with her vibrant green eyes. She had black stripes all over her body and the rest of her was a mix of gray and 

black. She had a little pink toy that was made of yarn laying next to her. I looked at her ticket and it said “Hailey Protectors of Animals.” I went to find my mom to tell her that I found the one! I turned the corner and I found her looking at an old cat. It was yellow and orange and had very thick fur.

“What about this one?” she asked.

“Umm… I really like the one in the front,” I replied.

“But what about this one?” my mom asked again impatiently.

I knew the reason why she wanted an old cat and not a kitten. She did not want one that would last very long. I think it was because she was just not a big fan of cats.

“No thank you,” I told her with a stern tone in my voice.

“I really like the one in the front!”

I go look for my dad and have them gather around the cage.

“She is so cute Livi!” my dad said with a huge smile on his face.

“Can we take her out?”

“Sure” my dad says.

We took her out of the cage and into a little room to make sure that she was the one we wanted. I grabbed a toy and and swung it around trying to get her attention to play. She was sitting on the floor looking at me. Hailey jumped up onto the bench that my mom and I were sitting on and laid down in between us. She was not in the mood to play.

“Perfect… we’ll take her!” my dad exclaimed.

He puts Hailey back into her cage and we walked to the front desk. He told the lady that we would take Hailey. She put a big adopted ticket on the front of the cage and went to 

grab a carrier from the back. Suddenly, a women came in and asked for Hailey. Apparently she did not see the big bright adopted sign that Hailey had on her cage. My mom, dad, I just stared at her. I did not understand. We just adopted her and another person was asking for her. The lady at the front desk came back and handed me the carrier and said…

“Sorry she is taken.”

The women seemed disappointed. Then she walked away. She just walked away without saying a word.

If we arrived to the shelter a couple minutes later Hailey would have been gone. It was hard just to think about that.

I carried Hailey to the car. I placed her down on the back seat having the front of the cage face me. She looked at me and I looked at her all the way home. My parents were happy that we got a pet. I realized that she was more than a pet. She was now part of the family!         

 

 

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1 thought on “Olivia’s Memoir: Hailey

  1. I really like how you described the connection between you and Hailey but i would love to read more about what you felt when the woman wanted Hailey or when you adopted her and she was finally yours.

    Grand Prairie, TX

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