A two-year-old shelter cat named Edward never had a loving family to call his own. But little did he know that someone was out there who needed him more than he needed them.
Iona had made a trip to the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Conroe, Texas with her son. Her cat of 10 years had just passed away. After looking for a new companion, she spotted Edward, and instantly knew he was the one for her. “The way he cuddled upon my shoulder reminded me of the cat I’d just lost,” she recalls.
Barbara Bates, the adoption coordinator for the animal shelter, was there with her camera when this rare incident of ‘love-at-first-sight’ happened, right there in the lobby of the red-brick building.
“It just filled my heart,” Bates says about the scene. “The kitty just snuggled right up to her.”
“I said, ‘Iona, do you mind if I take your picture?’ And she said, ‘Honey, I sure hope I don’t break your camera.'”
Bates’ camera turned out fine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a few hearts broke upon seeing this tender moment captured that day:
“[This] photo tells me Edward immediately sensed that Iona had lots of love and security to offer him,” Bates says.
“To me, an animal gives you life, that a person can’t, or material things can’t.
“You come home from a stressful day, and they want to kiss on you. It just makes everything bad go away. So it just touched my heart.”
Looks like Iona will have a new favorite picture of hers to treasure.