This heartwarming story began from a visit to the local animal shelter where students came to help out on Give-A-Hoot Day.
Give-A-Hoot Day is a day to volunteer on or off of West’s campus at organizations across Olathe. As students at West, we are taught to give back and help out our community. One trip led by Zach Russman ended up being an extra-special day for sophomore Gavin Lloyd.
The students filed off the bus to prepare the shelter for a well-decorated Christmas. As they passed by each kennel, the dogs and cats had different responses to the unknown newcomers.
White walls with pet portraits soon were covered by the students from top to bottom with Christmas decor, litter boxes were filled and red bows hung from cages. Piles upon piles of laundry were done and a boy’s heart grew three times its size after seeing a glimpse of the six-month-old cat with a stubby tail and a heavy hope for a new home.
“I saw him sitting in his cage,” Lloyd said. “It was a really weird sit. He had his legs sitting like a human and I was very intrigued by that. And he just let me pet him and he was super friendly.”
Lloyd came back to the animal shelter five days later to see if Pete was still available. Luckily, he was there, and Lloyd got to take him home the very next day. After adoption, Lloyd and his family were ready to name him.
“He has little bunny feet and so he hops around like a bunny,” Lloyd said. “That’s why they named him Pete, for Peter Rabbit—I named him Pete for Pete Davidson.”
Lloyd has always had pets, starting with a hamster. After the hamster, he got a big dog followed by a smaller dog. He never had a cat, but he always wanted one.
“It was a little nerve wracking because we didn’t know if he was gonna be able to handle two dogs, but he’s the chillest cat you’ll ever meet,” Lloyd said. “He didn’t even react. He just kind of sat there.”
Over the past weeks, Lloyd and Pete the cat have been bonding every time Lloyd is home. Pete has taken the dogs sleeping spots next to Lloyd and has cozied up to the whole house and each new family member very quickly.
“He doesn’t care who you are or what you look like, he will let you pet him, he will play with you,” Lloyd said. “He loves the fireplace, and anytime we put it on, he just sits there and stares at it, and we have to be careful because he’s so attracted to it, he kind of wants to walk right and it.”
With weather getting colder as each day passes, animal shelters across Kansas are getting colder as well. Animal shelters do all they can for the animals, but what they truly need is a forever home.
“It’s cold,” Lloyd said. “They’re all alone in the shelter. It’s sad to see animals just sitting in cages especially during the winter when, you know, there’s not very much heat. Obviously Pete likes the heat.”
