Kayln adored animals, and had a special bond with them. They seemed to know they were safe with her. As early as three years old, she would sit on our front porch and pet the neighbor’s cat every day. Throughout her childhood, the only books she wanted to check out from the library were books on animals. Then, in her teen years, she loved to watch animal rescue shows.

I lost count of the number of animals she rescued over the years. Stray dogs in the neighborhood found their way to our house. They seemed to know that Kayln would help them find their way back home. If there were no tags on the collar, we would make a familiar trip to the shelter. She ended up volunteering at the animal shelter, which allowed her to walk the dogs and pet the cats to her heart’s content.

About 2 weeks before Kayln passed away, we were all at home and Kayln asked if animals go to heaven. She really wanted to know not just if there are animals in heaven, but if our pets would be there someday. We had a long talk about it and we agreed that they would. It would make her so happy to have animals to keep her company in heaven.