The following story was submitted in the Pawsitively Picture Perfect photo contest. The top three finishers received $500 in cash, as well as $2,000 in cash and supplies for their favorite shelter. To read more stories, click here!

We didn’t want another cat. We had seen 12 of them through their lives, and we were happy with the one sweet older cat we had. And yet there he was, abandoned many months before by people who moved and left him.

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / ALEXA

When we tried to get close to him, he would run away. Eventually, though, he trusted us enough to come up onto our porch, where he ate peacefully next to Blossom, the neighborhood possum. He was gentle with her, and let her snatch apple bits under his nose.

And then winter came, and it was more than we could bear to see him lingering on the edges of our property. So, we seduced him inside our door with food. Our wild child took to being inside like a fish to water. He melted into a marshmallow.

PHOTO: ELIZABETH STODT

Chuck is 17-plus now. He nearly died a few months ago when his stomach stopped working, but like his survival after abandonment, he beat the devil. He’s a fragile older gent and sometimes lying tucked in with him, we feel an incipient sorrow that we might not have much more time with him. And then the warmth of his love is like a blanket, making every moment sweet and precious.

Knowing him is a joy and a privilege. A door that opened eight years ago with infinite rewards.

PHOTO: ELIZABETH STODT

This story was submitted by Elizabeth Stodt in support of Goathouse Refuge Inc. To read other stories from the Pawsitively Picture Perfect photo contest, click here!