In the Arms of an Angel

It tears me up inside to see people be so cruel to all of these innocent animals around the world. Something needs to be done...



Living in Cairo, Egypt with my family in 2003 opened my eyes to reality of beaten and abused animals. Walking the streets in Maadi, I would see dozens of wandering cats, kittens, puppies, and dogs doing anything and everything possible to survive. I remember there was a litter of orange kittens, whose mother was no longer with them, living in some bushes around the corner from my school, Cairo American College. For weeks my friends and I would walk over there after school and feed and play with them, until one day they were no longer there. Another incident that killed me happened while I was at my friends house after school. We were hanging out in her room when we heard this awful screeching sound. We ran to the window and there across the street was an Arab woman holding a cat by its tail, swinging and slamming its delicate head and body into the concrete wall of her home beating it to a bloody pulp. It was then that I first realized how sick and cruel some people are to these innocent, loving animals. All they want is our love and attention, just like little kids.

When we moved into a villa (house with a yard) a year later, I decided that I needed to do something to help. Yes, I realized, and still do, that I can't help every animal out there, but know that helping a few can go a long way. Imagine if everyone helped one or two abandoned animals in their community... At our villa, a cat would come and hang out in our yard all day and night and would never leave. I started to feed it and finally convinced my parents to let it live inside the house with us. This became my cat. In the process of me feeding this cat (before it became an inside cat) I think other cats smelt the food and started to make their way over. To make a long story short, Within 2 weeks I was feeding 13 cats 2 meals a day regularly. None of the cats that came into my yard were turned down, none left without a meal. Going through that routine, feeding those cats everyday, making sure they were all fed fulfilled me, it brought me pure joy and happiness.

Now, I am proud to say that Tyler and I have rescued 2 animals. We hope to continue to be blessed to care for and contribute to saving abandoned, beaten, and neglected animals and we hope that you will too.