I have always loved animals. I’ve been terrified of insects my whole life (they’re in the animal family), but I love animals. When I was little, I would attend the Walk For Paws every year with my mom. When I entered middle school, I began volunteering with a humane society group, helping out at Butterfly Dreams and the Athens Area Humane Society. My entire family has always had a love for helping animals, and we have all been involved in animal rescue. Growing up, my family has had both cats and dogs, and we currently have three dogs and six cats, which is actually a low number for us. Our three dogs are Shirley, Boots, and Mac. I named Boots after the monkey from Dora the Explorer, and my brother named Shirley. We were both very little when we adopted those two, and we adopted Mac a few years ago from a shelter in Athens. Our six cats are (bear with me here) Trout, Sam, Gummy, Harley, Frankie, and Snuffy. We also have some fish, which are surprisingly also rescue animals. I am definitely a cat person, but that does not change how much I love dogs and other animals. I don’t think I will ever be able to feel normal living in a house that does not have pets. Thanks for reading.