歪歪漫画

I will forever have a unique way of finding out I was allergic to cats.

Growing up, our first family pet was a cat. Her name was Lola, and we didn鈥檛 cross paths much. Lola tolerated my sister, my dad and me, exemplifying her reclusive way of living among humans with everybody except my mom.

Lola was my mom鈥檚 cat.

My mom鈥檚 first teaching job was in a town called Nora Springs in Iowa. She had a coworker who picked out two cats from a litter on a farm. So naturally, when she could only care for one cat, my mom took in Lola.

My parents moved to Brainerd in August 1993, and Lola moved with them. She lived until she was 23 years old.

We got our first family dog in a similar fashion. My uncle pawned off a beagle named Coca, who was supposed to be one half of a beagle duo with Cola.

Coca and Lola, again, tolerated each other, but it鈥檇 be dramatic to call them friends of any kind. And while my family might disagree, Coca was my dog.

She slept in my bed every night until she was too old to do so. She hung on for three more years before I got the call on a Sunday morning when I was in college. My parents had to take Coca to the vet one last time.

Six months later, my parents were on the verge of being empty-nesters, which meant getting another dog. They picked up a skittish, baggage-ridden sharpe-rat terrier named Wrigley from the Cloquet humane society, who is now 13.

My family has always been more partial to dogs. So when the time was right, I wanted to get one of my own.

Being a sports writer comes with a lot of long nights, early mornings and sacrifices in your social life. But having a best friend to come home to at the end of the day makes the tough moments worth it.

That鈥檚 who I found at Heartland Animal Rescue (HART) in Brainerd on March 13, 2022 鈥� a best friend. My mom saw a Facebook post about a dog that had been left at the shelter, and she knew he鈥檇 be perfect for me.

Two days later, I picked up Sebastian. He鈥檚 a mutt, with many characteristics of a dachshund and a rottweiler. 鈥淪ebastian is a 40-pound weiner dog and barks like a rottweiler,鈥� is the easiest way I鈥檝e learned to describe him.

But aside from telling the story about how I got him, I rarely think about the place that gave him to me. Growing up, I volunteered at HART, but I鈥檝e only been back once since graduating high school. I hadn鈥檛 been back to an animal shelter of any kind until a couple of weeks ago.

I stepped out of my usual routine of sports writing to meet Marina Lovell, the executive director at Great River Rescue. Our photographer, Madelyn Haasken, was equally eager to meet a collective of future pets.

Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer

Bemidji鈥檚 shelter has exciting things on the horizon, including a two-acre dog park in the works that can be rented by the community and give shelter dogs a chance to run in an enclosed area.

I learned about the Pet Fixers program and how it provides affordable options for people to get their pets spayed and neutered.

But least importantly, I found out I was allergic to cats.

I had suspicions about how my skin reacts around cats. My sister adopted a 12-year-old cat named Charlie just over a year ago. He鈥檚 an overweight, geriatric, bathtub-obsessed senior who thinks he鈥檚 more of a dog than his feline counterparts.

When my sister leaves town, I typically make a few stops to check on Charlie. But one day, I hung around him longer than I usually do. My skin started to swell and itch, and my eyes were bloodshot. I called my dad and told him about my allergy suspicions.

鈥淲ell, you lived in a house with a cat for 16 years, I don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e allergic,鈥� he retorted.

Fair point, Joe. After all, it was right in the height of allergy season, so maybe it was the spring weather.

But as I walked out of Great River Rescue that Wednesday after Madelyn and I spent way too long playing with a litter of kittens, my hands looked like batting gloves. Every inch of exposed skin felt like it was on fire, and it was so worth it.

The mild allergy symptoms went away, leaving me with a lasting impression of what goes into the survival of animal shelters: a community.

I couldn鈥檛 shake the feeling of my ignorance. An animal shelter has given me years of endless joy in Sebastian. Yet, the place that gave him to me has been out of my sight and out of my mind.

It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to run a nonprofit, no-kill shelter. It takes hundreds of selfless people volunteering their time to animals in need. It takes an unmatched level of mental fortitude to show up every day and work at an animal shelter.

It takes everything to keep the lights on at these places.

While monetary donations are the most important, Great River Rescue accepts other forms of support. People can donate blankets, food, toys, etc. People can also donate their time in the form of dog walking, cleaning and entertaining the animals.

Above all else, if you鈥檙e looking to add to your family, look at your local shelter first. Adopting a pet has given my family a lifetime of memories that I wouldn鈥檛 trade for anything.