Pete (formerly Hazel)

“As I sit here writing this, I am having to convince Hazel (now Pete), who is snuggled up next to me, that drinking my coffee is a bad idea.”

It’s the little moments like these that teach us how special our pets are—from the silly quirks like wanting to drink their hooman’s coffee to peeing on every single mailbox—and, when you add up those moments over time, why adoption changes lives. Shannon’s adoption story of kitty Pete is an ever-growing collection of these great moments.

Pete was about 2 and a half when Shannon adopted her in January 2019. Shy at first, Pete took a good couple months to come out of her shell, hiding in the bathroom, simply not ready to venture out into her new home. But, sure enough, time did the trick, and the endearing moments came to surface.

Shannon shares a few of her favorites: “Pete is quite chatty, though when she talks, she doesn’t always manage to get a meow out; it’s mostly squeaks. She still loves her toy that came home with her from APS and has decided that 3 a.m. is the opportune time to chase it around my apartment. She loves watching TV with me, especially Duke basketball and anything that happens to have birds on the screen. She is quite demanding when she wants to be pet and will throw her little body at me or lick my hand incessantly if I stop too early or fall asleep. The other night, I woke up to her snuggled up next to my arm, feet in the air, snoring. For a cat that is still occasionally skittish during the day, she seemed to show no reservations at night.”

It’s the little things, right?

We are so happy that Shannon was able to find her perfect adoption match at the APS of Durham and to build her family with Pete, a once shy kitty turned spunky, sassy, and snuggly, sometimes driving Shannon crazy at 3 a.m. … but as pet lovers ourselves, we know this makes Pete even more endearing.

And that’s what we call a Happy Tail!