I was nineteen years old when I first met Angel at the local county animal shelter. I was looking at this pretty little calico in the cage two levels on top of hers when I felt these skinny little paws wrap around my leg. I knelt down and looked into the cage of the skinniest little black cat I had ever seen. She stared at me with these huge yellow hopeful eyes, and my heart was lost to her forever. When I took her home, my family was shocked out how painfully skinny she was. You could see every bone in her face, spine, and tail. My dad called her "Stick Cat" because she was so thin. She stayed by my side allow through my twenties and into my early thirties. She moved from apartment to apartment and finally into my first home with my husband nine times. She always took moving with stride. She was always ready for a new adventure. She stayed by my side through the most difficult times of my life and celebrated with me through the best. She helped me adopt other cats who have come and gone into our lives. I also often took her to work with me frequently. I am a social worker who works with the elderly population and the terminally ill/hospice patients. I would lie Angel on the bed with them where she would curl up and purr with them for hours. She often provided more than I could ever provide with that one single act of kindness. Everytime a friend or family member would come over to visit, she would greet them and demand the toll of a good scratch behind each ear. She would lie on the couch for hours with my husband to watch the baseball and football games with him. As the years progressed, it became very difficult for her to climb stairs due to her arthritis. We made her home in the fully furnished walkout basement with plenty of large windows. We showered much love and affection on her on a daily basis. One afternoon, I went down to give her a daily treat of canned kitty food when I found her lying on her side crying. She had been doing fine only a few hours before. I immediately started crying. I knew she was trying to tell me that it was her time to go to Heaven. I pet her for a minute while she purred loudly telling me that everything was going to be alright. My husband and I rushed her to the Emergency Vet Clinic where the veterinarian informed us that she was going into Congestive Heart Failure. It happened so fast that my first reaction was to do everything to keep her alive with me. Angel snuggled her head into me and purred, again telling me that everything was going to be fine. She then made the decision on her own and started to passing away without assistance. I wrapped her in the warm fuzzy blanket at the veterinarian office. I held onto her and wept until long after she took her last shaky breath. I am still grieving over the recent loss of my best friend for fifteen years. I thank God every day that she gave fifteen years of her life to spend with me.