By Lalinda De La Fuente

I’m not quite sure when or how it began. My parents told me that I’ve always loved animals. When I was young I didn’t own many dolls because my parents found that I instead preferred the company of a teddy bear or a fuzzy stuffed cat. Even at a very young age, I would sit on our patio and watch a squirrel rummaging for food or a bird sitting on the wires. I don’t know what I was looking for. All I knew was that any animal could easily hypnotize me, at anytime.

My parents reinforced this love from a very young age. They bought book after book about animals for me to read. I read each one from front to back, often several times over. I reached a point where I was eight years old and could recite the facts of the Siberian tiger or the African okapi. As a result, from the knowledge that I so thirsted for, I have developed a strong compassion for our Mother Earth and all of her creatures.

For me, everything on our planet is connected. I may appear different than a cat or a dog but in some ways, we are all very much the same. It is just as important for your pet to feel connected to you as you should feel connected to it.

Photo Caption: Me at 8 years old with my cats. The black cat, Neenee (a shortened version of a Thai name because of my Thai mother) disappeared while we were living in Singapore, probably less than a year after this photo was taken. The Siamese, named Pailin (Thai for blue sapphire) died at the ripe old age of 15. I was 15 as well and up to that point didn't remember not having that cat. Both cats will always be missed by both my family and I.