Houses on houses yet there's one tall apartment building. Living in a hispanic household with a strict mom, my chill dad, my older sister, and me. Just the four of us living in one of the apartments. Growing up my sister and I loved watching a lot of shows about cartoons or live animals. We had always wanted an animal but my parents believed our home was too small and we did not have the funds for a pet. 

Every Christmas year my sister and I were always waking up our parents in order to open presents. However this Christmas was different as my parents walked to the room and told my sister and me to wake up to see our presents. The first thing we saw when we got to the living room was a large brown box. It was a very still box and we did not know what it could be. We moved towards it and quickly opened it. We saw a small shih tzu who was black and white with curly fur covering his eyes. “Now that you guys have a dog you have to be very responsible and name the dog.” Our mom said. “Can we name him oreo since he looks like one.” My sister and I said nearly at the same time. In school my friends always bragged about their pets and how they grew up with their pets and most of their dogs were called oreo. But my mom wanted our dog to seem unique and not have the same name as every other dog. Therefore my sister and I brainstormed names and we ended up poochy. 

As kids we grow up wanting whatever catches our attention, However the issue with that is that our parents end up cleaning up after us. Since my sister and I were too young to walk the dog in the streets alone. Our dad had to walk poochy and deal with all his care but I feel like maybe poochies were happy living with someone. 

A year later my dad had gotten cancer and had started chemotherapy. My mom wanted to bring my dad home, however the doctor said that it's best for my dad not to be near animals, So my mom had called my dads friend and asked him to take care of poochy while my dad was home. A few months passed and my dad had lost his battle with cancer. My sister had been asking my mom about poochy for a while so my mom decided to call my dads friend. 

“Sorry I do not have him with me anymore” my dads friend said from what I recall. 

My mom was furious hearing this while my sister and I cried knowing we had lost the dog that had just gained a home and a family that loved him. It wasn’t fair for someone to sell an animal that has nothing to do with them especially if they just felt like it.

My sister and I really wanted another dog but my mom believed that it was too expensive to take care of a dog and we do not have the ability to watch a new dog. I was heartbroken as everyone always told me the stories of their animals and having more than 2 pets. While all I could do was look at the dogs up for adoption from the pet stores. As I grew up I understood the reason why we couldn’t get a pet and while walking to school I always saw street cats who were poor animals who are unable to have a family or home to stay warm at. Many of these animals were unable to have a family or were neglected. I guess I kind of wanted to replace my lost dog by rescuing a street cat, however my mom did not seem interested in this idea.

I went to Mexico for the first time when I was around 10 years old in order to visit my family. Mexico felt a lot quieter than NY and it being my first time there it was a whole new world. The streets smelt of food as there were food carts everywhere. I lived there for 2 months at my grandparents house and I learned new information on animals in Mexico. My grandparents, my aunts and uncles and even their neighbors had dogs whether they were small sausage dogs, chihuahuas to big dogs such as golden retrievers and german shepherds. The strange part was going to the market with my grandma once and I stood there in confusion and disliking what I had seen. 

“Why are there dogs living on the streets?” I asked my grandma 

“The dogs do not have a home and have no where else to go so people at the market give them food” My grandma said 

“In New York I have only seen cats running around in the streets. I have never heard of dogs on the street,” I added. 

I had always thought that if animals are on the street it's because they were born there. Mexico has a huge population issue with dogs due to the fact that many dogs run away from their owner due to neglect or are born in the streets causing more issues. An article had stated that, “The National Institute of Statistics and Geography estimates that about 70 percent of the 18 million dogs in Mexico live on the street, born as strays or simply abandoned. It’s a statistic that becomes overwhelmingly evident as you walk around.” (Jessice Barett, 2025 world footprints) This large number showed a big issue that was predominant in society as millions of dogs had no place to live while only about 30% of the dog population had a home and it was yet unknown if these dogs were being neglected.

Many years passed and I had moved on from wanting a pet since we did not have the money to be taking care of them. However I still really wanted a pet so I had talked to my parents for months trying to convince them that we should get a dog. They kept saying no but I remember seeing a very cute street cat earlier that day so I switched up and asked if I could get a cat. They didn’t know what to say as they knew that cats would be easier to take care of as we were not home during the day and we wouldn’t have to worry about taking them out every once in a while. They still kept trying to tell me I would be irresponsible taking care of another life and I guess I was kinda worried about that but I really wanted a cat.

 “If you want a cat then you have to find out where to adopt one and cover the expenses you are not going to be relying on us to maintain the cat.” My mom had said in an annoyed tone due to the many times I had asked for a cat. After weeks and days of searching online and trying to see what centers would be able to give me a cat to adopt I was unable to find a place. Yet when I had found a decent place all my parents would say is that I was not ready for a pet. 

I understood the fact that taking care of another form of life would maybe cause problems either for the animal or me depending on their comfort and how much they rely on me. I always believed that it was best to not own a pet if they would just be neglected then it wouldn’t be fair for the creature that depends on us for its survival. Some people are able to support the many street cats here in New York. A kind old hispanic lady goes out everyday and on the corner of my block gives out food to the many street cats and even knows what each of them prefers and she feeds them with her own money. While many people with money would rather just leave the many street animals to suffer on their own. My parents had understood the fact that I was a little more responsible and therefore trusted me with another life. They had a friend who rescued street cats and took them home and he had contacted them telling them that he had found a mother and her kittens inside a dumpster and sent us a video of them. My mom who was hesitant at first had already fallen in love with the kittens at first sight and had also wanted them. We waited weeks to receive them but we still got them. Once I had gotten them I promised my parents friend that I would protect them and make sure that they live a healthy and long life and were never mistreated. Now being an owner of two cats I understood how kind cats can be and they just try their best to rely on themselves but are unable to on the streets.