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I found Chimo (her real name is Simone, after the French writer de Beauvoir) on my way home from work. It was a scorching day in Santiago (Chile's capital city), and as I waited for a friend to pick me up, I saw a scrawny ball of fur on top of a box, in the middle of my city's main street.

Chimo was only 6 weeks old, she couldn't breathe properly, had a severe fever, and both her eyes were infected and filled with a greenish secretion. I took her in my arms and ran to the vet as soon as I could, disregarding the fact that there was no way I was going to be allowed to have pet number four at home. When we got to the doctor, the woman didn't give me much hope: Chimo was too young and too sick, and things didn't look good.

By the end of the first week, when she was passed off from my house to my friend's room, both of us taking turns looking after her like our own baby, she started to make some progress. We took care of her until she got better, thinking we could find a proper home for her (I already had three dogs who hated cats). I even started a Facebook campaign to find her a loving home. But, after weeks of nourishing her, sleepless nights checking her breathing, feeding her, and helping her relieve herself (that is how sick she was), I just couldn't give her away.

I decided to keep her, and even though my mom's furniture disagrees, this is the best thing I have ever done! Even our three dogs warmed up to her after a while (there was some barking and peeing on her in the process, but now they have all accepted their new sister).

And now, she will be spending her first birthday with us! She is my baby and I am forever grateful fate put her on that street that day for me.

Story submitted by Constanza Contreras Ruiz from Santiago, Chile.

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