Just yesterday (March 31, 2014), my mom, sister, and I rescued a young, male tabby that was pinned behind a dumpster.  It was scared, meowing for help.  I do not know how long it was stuck there, but it had been outside long enough to the point it was covered in dirt and clearly distrusting of people.  I say this because, after my sister and I moved the dumpster to free it, the cat rushed off and underneath some nearby cars.

Needless to say, the two of us went after it because we were concerned about the cat's condition and we very much wanted to make sure that it was okay.  We got the cat to trust us enough to come out and let us pick him up.  Thankfully, the cat was in good condition aside from the dirt and some minor injuries.  It was obvious that the poor cat was not meant to be outdoors.  It was declawed in the front paws, was of good size, obviously having been well fed, and was incredibly friendly.  It was a lap cat, we found out, after hopping into our car.

We had been unable to locate the owner nearby, so we went to the manager of the apartment complex and I, personally, went and asked the kind man if he or the others knew of anybody missing a cat within their apartment complex.  Unfortunately, none of them had heard anything from anyone.  There were no posters around asking people to call a number if we found their lost cat, nobody had stopped by telling the manager that they had lost a cat, NOTHING!

So, obviously, our next step would be to take the cat to the Adams County Animal Shelter and check to see if he was microchipped.  Unfortunately, the answer was AGAIN, no.  We left the cat with them and ask that we be kept informed about the state of the animal, and if his owner ever managed to contact them or not.  The manager sent an e-mail out to every single resident in his apartment complex, asking all of them if they had either lost their adorable cat, or if they knew who it belonged to.  So far, nobody has claimed it.

Because the cat trusted my family, and we have always taken very, very good care of our pets, we naturally wanted to see if, after the 5 day waiting period is up and nobody has claimed it, we could take the animal home with us.  We are the ones who rescued the cat, so it's to be expected that we'd like to take it home with us to care for it after it became as attached to us as it did in that short amount of time.

Our answer?  We had to pay full price just to take the cat back and into our home.  My answer?  I'm not paying you to take a cat that WE rescued when so many others clearly ignored it.

I decided to come here to change.org because I thought it was my best option at getting some help.  This is the second day, meaning that I have just 3 days to get as many signatures as I possibly can so I can present it to the Adams County Animal Shelter and get them to release the cat into our custody, so to speak.

I have mentioned it before, but we do take very good care of our pets.  They all live long lives, they are all very happy with us and so fond of each of us.  Considering that we've always had cats, it's also very natural to assume that we know how to take care of them.  I refuse to let the natural greed of businesses (sorry folks, but we all know it's true) prevent us from taking home a cat that my family rescued.

So I ask you kind folk of change.org to please, PLEASE help my family.  If you've ever been to an animal shelter such as Dumb Friends League or another local animal shelter where you live or have lived, you KNOW that the prices charged just to take home an animal are beyond ridiculous.  These animals just want to go to a good home, so why, knowing how the economy has been, do they want to make it so impossible for so many people to do so?!  But more than that, there's the prices to get various procedures done such as microchipping.  Beyond that, there's the prices charged when you take your pet to the vet.  There's just so much greed these days and it hurts to see.

In closing, again, I would be very thankful to all those who sign this petition.  It's the best I could think of to do.  I'll be honest, I had honestly just considered going in there after the 5 days are up and taking the cat home whether they liked it or not and explaining the situation to any officials (such as the police) that they called to try and deal with me.  It's easy to assume that that, sadly, would probably not go very well for me.  So please, please help.  If you know what it is to love an animal, or even if you don't and just have a kind, supportive nature to you, sign my petition.  I will be eternally grateful.