A Story A Day. Story 173 of 365: Pets.

"When I was a kid I always begged my parents to buy me a dog, they always told me our house was too small, that we couldn't afford having a dog. As soon as I understood I would never get a dog I started asking for a cat, however my mother told me it would ruin the furniture. From cats I moved to hamsters, turtles, fishes, any kind of animal, but the answer was always the same 'No,we can't have any animal'. It is hard, for a young girl, to be denied such a simple wish. This is why, as soon as I moved out, I decided to get myself a shelter cat. I called him Rusty. After him came Lily, Tiger, and Jimmy." 

"Miss Tucker, you need to stop thinking about the cats. It's the only way you can get cured."

"I am not ill."

"Yes you are, having more than thirty cats crammed into a fifty-square meter appartment is not healthy."