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Back in early 2013, I was working at the local animal hospital, tending to the hospital and boarding animals, cleaning, and feeding them. While upstairs taking care of the injured and sick animals, I made it a point to not get too attached to any of them. I couldn't afford to.

When I first met Maple, she had recently been hit by a car and was dragging around a broken leg beneath a cast. Her old owners didn't take care of her properly when they brought her home, and within a week, she was back. The owners signed her over to the hospital and were out of her life.

As a result of their negligence in taking proper care of her cast, Maple was forced to lose her leg. During the entire procedure and recovery, she never once scratched or bit anyone. In her eyes, all people were kind and good, and she knew that they were there to help her.

After recovering, she was brought downstairs to the boarding kennel. She spent her days in a cage, her stitches eventually turning into a healed scar and then into a fuzzy nub. Over the weeks that followed her recovery, I couldn't believe how sweet of a cat she was. She was one of a kind. She didn't care if she was missing a leg, she was just happy to have any attention she could.

Still living with my parents, I knew adopting her would be out of the question. We already had a dog and another cat. However, after weeks and weeks of falling in love with the little cat and showing my mother pictures of her (and even introducing them!), she finally caved.

Maple now lives with me, happily hopping along and meowing for me every time I get home. My family calls her our "cat dog" since she acts like a dog rather than a cat. She's become my baby and she will never have to worry about being left behind or neglected again.

Story submitted by Christina from Pomfret Center, Connecticut.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!