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In The Heat of Los Angeles

BONUS: Stray Cat Blues (The Rolling Stones)

So I got this idea. A really cute one and needed to write it. And felt it was perfect from Harry’s POV. So welcome to the first time I’m writing from Harry’s POV for In the Heat of Los Angeles. If this goes over well it might happen more often. It’s obviously not a full chapter but it was just too perfect of an idea to pass up. I hope you enjoy it!

“Thanks for taking me golfing today,” I said to James as we were walking to our cars in the parking lot. I had just managed to survive an entire 18 holes of golf with my girlfriend’s father and actually had fun. We’d started with lunch at the country club he belonged to and then a great round of golf. By the time we made it to the second hole I was significantly less nervous than I had been when I left the house this morning.

Evie had pep talked me before she left for work about how I was going to be fine, that her father was harmless. She was lying through her teeth the entire time. I’d learned how to tell when she was lying not only to me but more importantly, to herself. She was a pro at trying to convince herself that if she said something enough times it became real. She had done it about us early on, that we couldn’t work because of the things she made up in her head. She had evidently done a number on herself when she and Drew split because until the night she finally told me about it she basically acted like she fully accepted the blame for the failure of their relationship. That was how I figured out that she did this to herself. That her crazy inner monologue often was full of negative self-talk.

Before she left for New York we had a long dinner together and she finally told me what happened in their relationship, both the start of the decent and the end. She completely broke down. Admitted that she had started to hate visiting New York because it was filled with memories of them together, despite a lifetime of visiting the city. That his memory had managed to ruin some of the places she loved at home in Chicago even. I made a promise to her that night, I promised that we would make memories to replace her bad ones. That she deserved to learn to love again and that the downfall of their relationship was not her fault, despite the fact that she had over the last year she had convinced herself that it was. I promised to stick by her until she learned to truly allow herself to learn to love with her whole heart and not be afraid of that feeling. I was almost 100% positive that she had gotten to the point where she believed that she deserved to love and be loved in return but I was going to remind her as much as possible of just how much I loved her.

Part of helping mend the broken parts of her heart was to build a relationship with her father. It hadn’t taken long to develop a relationship with her Mom and Dad. Grace and Marco were easy to get along with, James, on the other hand, put up a fight. I often wondered if he also had the crazy inner monologue running through his mind that Evie did. She didn’t even realize that sometimes she talked to herself while she worked, I pointed it out to her one night when I heard her mumbling about how stupid one of her employees was and shortly later started to scold herself about how she shouldn’t call her employees stupid, even if they were. I started to laugh and she asked why. It was pretty entertaining to watch her face as she realized she was speaking the thoughts in her head.

“I’m glad we could do this. It’s nice to be out of the office for an afternoon and it was a great chance for us to get to know each other without Evie’s prying eyes.” I laughed a little bit. “She’s never been very comfortable with me knowing the men in her life.”

“She started out with a lot of walls when I met her. I’m tearing them down, brick by brick, it’s a slow process but she’s worth it.”

“I’m glad you are willing to do the extra effort and I apologize for the slow process, that’s my fault. I set a terrible example for as she was growing up. She saw me with a lot of different women, I regret that now. I regret a lot of decisions I made but potentially being the reason that she allowed herself to stay in a terrible relationship and refused to open up with people is one of my biggest. I’ve always worried that she felt abandoned by me and that I always picked whoever I was married to or dating at the time over her. I hate that I didn’t stop her from feeling that way.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him but she did see things that way. Which was why how she idolized her father had confused me at first, but I got it now. She was trying to build the relationship she assumed that she missed out on with him while she was growing up. She felt that if she worshipped him that he would find her worthy of his time. After listening to them talk on Sunday it was obvious that he realized he’d failed her at points in her life and wanted to try and fix that.

“You’re both working to fix the problems from your past. That’s all that matters to her.”
“What was she doing this afternoon?” James asked. “I know that she mentioned she’d be out of the office.”

“She had lunch with Rachel and said she was pretty sure that she would be stuck with Rachel and her Mom for the rest of the afternoon.”

“Oh yes, how could I forget? Cyn called me this morning to ask how much she could admit to knowing about you two.”

“You and Cynthia spoke this morning?” I asked. It seemed a bit odd that my girlfriend’s father’s ex-wife was checking to see how much she could ask about my relationship.

“I did, we speak often. She’s becoming a grandmother for the first time. It’s something we often talked about when we were married. All of our girls growing up and starting families. We had always expected Rachel to be first to do that and she is.”

“I’m glad Evie was spending some time with Rachel today. She seems like a very sweet person.”

“I forgot that you met her on your first date. Evie’s protective of how much she tells people about that friendship. People often find it odd that she still calls her former stepsister her sister.”

“Well, they are close it’s a wonderful thing.” We were both now leaning against our cars talking.

“Yes, yes it is. Okay, I should probably get home. Jessica is dragging me out this evening with a few other couples. I need to be on my best behavior tonight.” I laughed at his eye roll.

“I should also probably get going. I need to pick up something for dinner so that Evie doesn’t have to worry about it and can just enjoy time with Rachel and Cynthia.”

“That’s good of you. Enjoy your night with Evie and if I don’t see you before then I will see you Sunday at my house for dinner.”

“Absolutely. Thank you again for the round of golf.” I climbed into my car and pulled my phone out to send a quick text to Evie.

I’m done golfing with your father and should be home shortly. Let’s stay in tonight. I want a little alone time with my girl. Hope you’re having fun with Rachel and Cynthia. See you in a few.

I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to a supermarket near by to pick up things to make dinner. It wasn’t very busy and I didn’t get stopped as I walked around which was nice considering I’d never shopped here. I usually get nervous going new places in town. I picked up everything to make a nice meal for Evie and loaded it into the car. As I went to get in I looked up and saw that there was a small group of shops that shared the parking lot with the market.

Inside the window of one of the shops was a group of little kittens playing with each other. The one that caught my eye was a tiny black and white tuxedo kitten with big ears and whiskers. I caught a glimpse at the sign and saw that it was an animal rescue organization. I shut the driver’s side door and locked the car before walking over to the window for a closer look at the kittens. The little tuxedo kitten came up to the window and looked up at me. I rested my head against the window and instantly the kitten put its paw up like it was trying to touch my hand.

“Well hello, there you little one. I think you are pretty cute.” I saw it open its mouth to meow at me but because of the glass was unable to hear it. “Okay, I’ll come in and talk to you.” I walked to the door and opened it before walking in.

“Hello and welcome. Have you stopped into City Kitty Rescue before?”

“I have not. I was in the neighborhood and stopped at the supermarket and this little guy in the tuxedo in the window caught my attention.”
“He’s cute isn’t he?” the woman asked. She was older than I was, probably around my Mum’s age with a very kind face. Her voice told of the care she had in the animals she worked with.

“Incredibly cute. He gave me a high five through the windows.”

“Why don’t I tell you a little bit about City Kitty Rescue and you can hold him for a little bit?” She reached into the area in the window where the kittens were playing and grabbed the little guy handing him to me.

“Hi there, buddy,” I said to him as I held him up to my face. He leaned forward putting his nose against mine.

“I think he likes you.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Well, City Kitty Rescue was founded in 2005 by a young woman who found a pregnant cat hiding under the front bushes by her apartment. When she asked the shelter what would happen she found out that a large number of cats and kittens in Los Angeles shelters were killed simply because there were so many homeless animals in the city that there simply wasn’t enough space to house all of them. She instantly adopted that cat and fostered the kittens until they were able to be weaned off of their mother and placed in adoptive homes. Once she was done with that litter of kittens she returned to that same shelter and started to adopt the at risk animals. Her friends and family discovered what she was doing and a wealthy friend helped to fund and start the non-profit. We are a 501©3 organization that works to help alleviate the burden on Los Angeles city shelters and find homes for all of these adorable little animals. We have a permanent safe haven for the cats and kittens that holds about 200 at a time that is just outside the city. But we’ve seen an influx of cats already this year and have opened this location as our Kitty Pop-Up Shop. The building owners are on our board and had the open space and wanted to do something to help the pet population in this city find homes and work towards the goal of animals in the shelters having homes and not being killed.”

“So you are a no-kill shelter?” I asked.

“Exactly. We don’t ever want a cat or kitten to live in fear that they will be sentenced to death because of space. We have a number of volunteers who foster cats and kittens until they find homes. We survive based off of donations and the fees collected for adoption, though the adoption fees alone rarely cover the care put into the animal. At any given time through our sanctuary, this location, and our foster network we are caring for between 1,000 and 1,500 cats and kittens. We were involved with a rescue of a few hoarding situations this spring with our partners at the city shelters and currently have about 2,000 animals in our care.”

“Wow, that is a lot of animals. What is the adoption fee?” I rubbed the kittens temple causing him to elicit the loudest and most beautiful purr I’d ever heard.

“Each kitten is $150, once they age past 2 the fee is reduced by 50%. And our cats that are over 10 are all available for free to a good home. We just want them to know love in the later years of their lives. We are actually running an adoption special right now because of the number of animals we have in our care, each of them is available for adoption for $50 right now. We also offer items for sale that help generate income for the organization so that every item an adoptive home might need for a new cat is sold here in our location and they can take it all home with them.”

“What is this little guy’s name?” I asked.

“Harry,” she replied sheepishly.

“You’re kidding me? That’s my name.”

“I’m aware of who you are, Mr. Styles. That one was actually named by my 15-year-old daughter, she’s a huge fan. She will be disappointed she isn’t here yet. It was a litter of four kittens brought it while she was helping me out one Saturday a few weeks ago. She named them after you and your bandmates. Louis and Niall were adopted together by a young woman, Liam went to a home about a week ago and little Harry has been here in the window flirting with every person who walks past hoping to find someone to take him home.”

“Well, he’s found someone. Help me pick out all of the things I will need to take home with him.” The woman introduced herself to me, her name was Joy. She had started to volunteer with the organization as a single mother who wanted to teach her daughter that giving back was important despite the fact that they didn’t have a lot themselves. When they had a permanent position available as an adoption specialist she was offered the job and was able to work doing something she believed in. She had been put in charge of the Pop-Up Adoption Center when it opened in spring. Her daughter Taylor had started to work part-time after school and on Saturdays, she was teaching her that the work we do with our lives can have more meaning than just a simple paycheck. Just as she was helping me to pack up the last of Little Harry’s things the door opened and a young girl walked in.

“Hey Mom, sorry I’m late. The bus was running behind,” she said. “And my battery on my phone died because I didn’t realize the charger wasn’t actually plugged in last night. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Taylor. You’re just in time. Little Harry is getting adopted out,” Joy replied.

“Man! I was hoping you’d let me take him home. I feel bad that he doesn’t have his friends with him. I was actually a little disappointed no one thought to name the orange brother and sister that came in last week Ron and Hermoine so at least he had friends whose names fit.” I laughed. This kid was creative.

“Well, I’m glad I snapped him up before you were able to,” I said to her as I smiled. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped. It was a look I was very familiar with. The realization that I was standing in front of someone. I never adjusted to the way it felt to have someone be excited to meet me. I was just a normal 22-year-old lad who loved to golf though I wasn’t great, who missed his Mum when he was gone too long and often times felt slightly out of place in the world I lived in.

“Oh. My. God. You’re him.”

“Who is him?” I winked at her as I asked the question.

“You, you’re Harry Styles. That cat is named after you.”

“Your Mum told me that. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get to adopt a few of his friends too. I think Niall would find it hilarious to know I had a cat version of him running around. Please tell me that Niall was the one that stole everyone’s food, it would be only appropriate.” Taylor laughed.

“He was actually, though I didn’t even know it at the time that I named them.”

“Well, as long as each of the boys is in a good home I’ll be happy. Joy, in addition to all of this I’d like to make a donation. Can I do that with a credit card here or do I need to send a check somewhere?” I asked.

“I have a form you can fill out and I’ll run it with a credit card here today.” She seemed excited that someone came in not only wanting to adopt an animal but make a donation.

“Oh, and charge me the full adoption amount, please. This guy has clearly been cared for with love and I would hate to pay any less than his normal rate.” She looked almost as if she would cry when I handed the donation form back and in addition to the normal adoption rate I’d be donating an additional $5,000. The organization seemed like one I would enjoy continuing to support in the future. Cats had always been around my home growing up, Gemma had Olivia at her flat in London, and I’d always felt sad that I couldn’t adopt a cat because I wasn’t in the same place for any significant amount of time. I’d thought about adopting back home in London but knew it would just mean Gemma would eventually end up with two cats. By adopting Little Harry I knew that Evie would have a little snuggle buddy when I was gone. “Thank you, both so much for your help and for giving Little Harry the love that he needed over his first few months of life. I promise to stop back and visit and I’ll bring pictures of him.”

“That is wonderful. Thank you for stopping in and adopting and for your extremely generous donation,” Joy said. I took a few pictures with the cat and Taylor. They asked if they could share the photos on their social media page and of course, I said yes. If by supporting this shelter my fame brought any additional donations it would be completely worth it.

I headed out to my car and put all of the cat things I purchased in the back with the groceries and put the kennel with the tiny kitten in the front seat. As I started the car and the music came on he meowed loudly.

“We are headed home Little Harry,” I said. “We might need to come up with a new name for you though. It might be a bit confusing to have two Harrys running around the house. Though knowing that Evie will be snuggling with a tiny Harry while I’m gone this summer is a bit more comforting than thinking about how Ty will probably try to take up my side of the bed.” The cat meowed a response. “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll love Evie. And you’ll probably love Ty too.” I glanced at my phone to see that Evie had responded to my text.

I’m glad you had fun with Pops today. I should be home in time for dinner. We are nursery shopping right now. The stuff that Rachel and Cynthia are picking out is so cute. And they keep calling me Auntie Evie. I think my heart has melted today. I might be a puddle by the time I get home.

I laughed a bit at her. I was glad she was spending time with her sister today and that she was comfortable telling me about how close they were. It had seemed odd that first night that she said she thought of Rachel as a friend. It was another thing that now looking back on it I realized was one of the times Evie had lied. I just couldn’t tell by looking at her then. She had this look in her eyes that gave away that she wasn’t completely telling the truth to anyone she was talking to. She had opened up about it and explained that most people found it odd that she was still close with her former step-siblings especially considering how much she had hated the women her father brought into her life. Though it appeared that if there was an exception to that it was Cynthia. Even James spoke highly of her, it was in the same manner that he spoke of Grace. It made me wonder if he looked at them as the two that got away.

I pulled into the garage at home and started to unload the car. I felt it was best to leave the kitten in his kennel while I brought in the groceries and put them away. That way I could get his litter box set up properly and put some food out for him before he took off around the house. I’d gotten him a little tiny collar that was black with a little gold tag that said his name and had Evie’s office number on it. I was a bit nervous about having my direct phone number listed on the cat’s collar and knew that if for some reason someone found him that Eliza would take care of the situation better than I could.

“Alright, little guy. Time to let you out,” I said. “Now let’s remember that we need to make sure that we don’t destroy the house before Mummy gets home, okay?” He meowed his response to me. “You are seriously so smart.” I opened the door and he came walking out of the cage and went straight to the food and water dish I’d set on the floor in the kitchen. “Okay, Joy said that I should show you where I put your litter box as soon as I took you out of the kennel.” I picked him up and carried him down the hallway to the office. I felt this was the safest place to start with a litter box. They’d also recommended that I have two litter boxes for him so I was going to also put one in the guest bath off of the gym upstairs so he had his choice and if he was upstairs he didn’t have to go downstairs and vice versa. Once I put him in the little house that was his litter box I heard him pawing around in it. He stepped out of it and looked up at me proudly. “You are such a good little guy.” I went to leave the room and like my shadow, he followed me back to the living room. I started dinner and laid down on the couch before he jumped up to join me. He sat on my chest letting me pet him and purring that loud purr he had.

“Hey baby,” Evie said as she walked in the house and saw me on the couch. She had her arms full. “So golf went well?”

“It went great. I mean your father kicked my ass but we decided that I’m going golfing with him again next week. He’s taking me with his normal group that he golfs with on Thursdays I guess.”

“You will end up knowing more of the movers and shakers in the entertainment industry than most people if you golf with my father. His Thursday group is someone who owns an agency that has the best agents in town, which I’m sure is why he’s bringing you. We can represent you in part of it but you’ll need a good agent. Charlie’s agency is the best. It’s also Matt who is an exec at like Fox I think, he just moved there, he used to be with MGM. Then they used to golf with one of the ABC/Disney/Pixar execs but he got pissed when Matt moved to Fox and stopped golfing with them. Those men and their drama.”

“Yeah, your father mentioned something about that.” Evie came over to the couch after she had set down all of her bags. She normally laid down with me when she’d get home.

“What is that?” she asked pointing at the tiny black and white ball of fur on my chest.

“A kitten.”

“I mean, I know it’s a kitten. But why is it in your house?”

“I adopted him today.”

“You adopted a kitten without telling me? What if I was allergic?”

“Your Nonna and Papa had three cats in their house and your Pops has two. Both of which are evidently yours.” She started to laugh uncomfortably.

“They aren’t mine, per say. We adopted Jake and Elwood when I was in high school because Pops felt I needed to volunteer my time when I was living here and not working 40 hours a week. I volunteered at a rescue because it was much less heartbreaking than serving the homeless, or at least I thought it was. I was a sucker and brought the cats home and he’s just been stuck with them. Though I swear to you that he loves them more than he loves me. Clearly, if they were mine they wouldn’t have been named Jake and Elwood, my father named them after The Blues Brothers. But you…you bought a cat.”

“I adopted a cat. I stopped at the supermarket near your father’s country club on the way home. There was a little Pop-Up shop for a kitten rescue there and he started flirting with me through the window. And City Kitty Rescue seemed like a pretty great place and I wanted to give him a home.”

“City Kitty? You…you…you adopted him from the place I used to volunteer.” She looked like she was going to cry as she sat down beside me on the couch and reached out to pet the kitten.

“I didn’t realize that was where you volunteered.”

“Yeah, Marissa that started the organization used to work at SME as a receptionist. My father was who funded her first year. He kept paying her normal salary to her and allowed her a year off to start the non-profit. He even threw a huge fundraiser at his house that year to help with more expenses. He does it annually now, it’s one of their biggest fundraisers. I sit on the board for it now, Pops had been on the board for about a million years until I moved out here and replaced him.”

“Then why don’t you have like 80 cats.”

“Because I am not a crazy cat lady. And Ty is mildly allergic. I actually don’t think he is. I think he’s just a pain in my ass who doesn’t want cat fur on everything because he plays with Jake and Elwood and has NEVER had a reaction to them.”

“Well, I thought he was cute and then I realized that with me being gone all summer this is something to cuddle you at night while I’m gone.” Her face softened even further than it had when she realized I’d adopted it from a rescue that was a huge part of her life. “Joy and Taylor helped me get everything he needs.”

“Joy is amazing. Taylor probably had a heart attack when you walked in, didn’t she?”

“She got that look that you’ve seen on girls in the supermarket when they realize I’m standing next to them in the frozen food aisle.”

“She’s a crazy kid. But she’s got a big heart. She wants to go to school for graphic design. I’ve known Joy since I was volunteering there. I babysat Taylor on a few occasions.”

“That’s funny. LA is such a big city you wouldn’t think it could be this small of a world.”

“So what is this little guy’s name?” she asked as he walked towards her on my lap. He really was a flirt, he rubbed up against her cheek and his purr got even louder.

“Harry.”

“Funny joke. What is his name?”

“Harry,” I replied. “I’m completely serious. Joy told me that a litter of four kittens came in together and that Taylor named them Louis, Liam, Niall and Harry. Louis and Niall were adopted together, Liam adopted a week ago, and they left Harry in the window to flirt with every passerby. He started making eyes at me when I was putting the bags in the car, even gave me a high-five through the window. I told him not to get too used to his name because it might get confusing with two Harrys in the family.”

“Nah, I like his name. He clearly takes after his namesake. Flirty, loud and determined to make me fall in love with him,” Evie said as she picked him up and he pressed his nose to hers. “We can call him Little H or lowercase.” I started to laugh.

“Lowercase?” I asked.

“Yeah, my uncle Giovanni has a son named after him. I call him Lowercase G, like the Montell Jordan lyrics.” I looked at her like she was crazy. “This Is How We Do It?” I shrugged my shoulders as I sat up. “This is how we do it, all hands are in the air and wave them from here to there. If you’re an OG Mack or a wannabe player. You see the hood’s been good to me, ever since I was a lowercase g, but now I’m a big G. The girls see I got the money, hundred dollar bills y’all.”

“Did you just attempt to rap?” I asked her laughing.

“Maybe, but I call my cousin lowercase g because of that song. I told him that when he grows up and has kids if he carries on the name tradition he can be the Big G.” My laughing got harder.

“You are so weird.”

“Says the man who adopted a cat that was named after him.”

“He was adorable. And he’s been excited for his Mummy to get home. He bathed himself for a good fifteen minutes so he’d look his best when he met her.”

“Mummy?”

“Yeah, I’ve decided he’s probably British, I mean the tux and all, so he probably will call you Mummy, not Mom,” I said Mom in the most American accent I could which made her laugh.

“Well Little H, Mummy is happy that Daddy is a weak person and adopted you. Mummy is also going to have to call Joy and Taylor to tell them that you get to live with her. Though she’s not sure what to do about you with Uncle Ty.”

“You could just stay here when I leave. You and Little H could have the house to yourselves.”

“I could do that.”

“I was a little uncomfortable about putting my cell phone number on his collar so it’s Eliza’s direct line at SME, that’s okay right.”

“That’s perfectly okay. She’s going to love him just as much as I do.” I watched as Evie took her phone out and started to follow the kitty around the living room taking pictures of him. I went into the kitchen to finish our dinner when I heard my cell phone buzz on the counter. I looked to see that Evie had tagged me in a post on Instagram.

everleemae: Welcome to the family, Little Harry. This little guy was adopted from @citykittyrescuela today by @harrystyles. Turns out the kitty used his giant ears and adorable whiskers to lure him into the Pop-Up today and that the little guy was part of a litter of 4 that were named after the members of @onedirection. Aren’t we lucky that it was Harry that was left! He’s the cutest and anyone who knows me knows that not only am I passionate about City Kitty Rescue and their mission but I’m a crazy cat lady who has been in hiding thanks to having too many roommates. So go ahead and follow @harrystyles_thecat on Iinsta because yeah, I already made him one. Look how tiny he is on the TV box! #kittystyles #harrythecat



She was a weird one but I loved her for it. And I was pretty sure this cat was the perfect addition to our little family.

“Alright Evie put down the Instagram and let’s eat.” She turned to smile at me sheepishly before coming over and giving me a kiss.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

“I think you’re the amazing one. Just don’t fall more in love with him than you are with me when I’m gone, okay?”

“Okay.”

Notes

Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I am a crazy cat lady with a giant heart for local animal rescue organizations. I actually am currently in the process of waiting to adopt a tiny little kitty I found two and a half weeks ago at my local animal shelter, Animal Rescue League of Iowa. She is awaiting surgery to amputate an injured leg so I am trying to be patient in this process. She was found as a stray cat by a police officer and is one tough little kitty at only about 9 weeks old. Also, you just might recognize that Harry the Cat in this bonus is actually my cat, Georgie. I thought it would be fun to share some of George’s photos as Harry and Evie’s cat because no lie there’s probably thousands in my iCloud. He’s my baby and he knows it. The ARL of Iowa is one of my favorite non-profits, they are a shelter that also provides Des Moines with its Animal Control Unit services. ARL due to that cannot be listed as a no-kill shelter because it is required to follow city regulations and laws. But they do not ever kill animals due to space concerns. They provide the greatest care possible and help to give these animals loving homes. They recently opened a building on their property just for cats that will hold upwards of 200 cats at a time as they wait for surgery or adoption. Last summer alone they had over 2,000 cats at times in their shelter. Many people do not understand the importance of spaying and neutering animals as a way to help with the overpopulation of homeless pets.

While I did makeup City Kitty Rescue, I do want to make sure that people know that the pet population in Los Angeles is high and their city shelters are always full. NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles) is a non-profit founded as part of the Best Friends Animal Society along with local organizations, rescues, and shelters to help eliminate the need to kill animals in Los Angeles shelters due to space. NKLA initially set a goal of having zero animals killed due to space concerns in Los Angeles Shelters. In 2011, when NKLA was formed the save rate for cats in LA shelters was 36.3% which meant the great majority were being killed in the shelters. The save rate for dogs was much higher at 71.3%. In 2012 only 57.7% of dogs and cats were making it out of shelters in LA alive. As of the start of 2017, the save rate was 90.4%! That is an enormous increase in only 5 years. Best Friends Animal Society is one of the leading non-profits for animals in the United States. If you feel like helping save our pet population or care for them as they are in shelters here are a few links to organizations in my local area, Los Angeles, the US and worldwide to help out or learn more.


Animal Rescue League of Iowa: www.arl-iowa.org


No Kill Los Angeles: www.nkla.org


Best Friends Animal Society: www.bestfriends.org


American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.aspca.org


International Animal Rescue: www.internationalanimalrescue.org


To quote the end of every episode of The Price is Right I watched as a kid: Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.

And always remember, adopt don’t shop!

xx AM.


PS I can’t wait to hear what you thought of this chapter. Comment your thoughts on it! If you like the bonus chapter let me know, I might do more in the future. It is always fun for me to tell stories from different perspectives so I have really enjoyed this personally.

Comments

@En_1960
Thank you!

LOVE this.

@xXFluffy_GruXx
HEY GUESS WHAT? THE SEQUEL IS A THING. A REAL THING. LIKE I PUBLISHED THE FIRST PART OF A SEQUEL! I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Your words of encouragement through all of this have meant more than you could ever truly know.

@xXFluffy_GruXx
Hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later. I'm behind with work which is stressful. I work for myself so it's not like I can have anyone else help but the good thing is I can take care of everything I need to without worrying about punching a clock for someone else. I'm also at that point where my sleep habit is so screwed that I just honestly want to pull an all-nighter, hate my life for like a day and a half and then hope that it resets my sleep schedule. Maybe tonight is the night for that. I could write instead of sleep, haha!

@raybansncoffee
Exactly! You are also 100% correct about growing through what you go through! I'm excited and anxious to see what comes next, but I'll wait patiently this time, promise. XD