The following story is a finalist in the Rescue to Royalty Challenge. Three grand prize winners will receive a $250 shopping spree, while a shelter of their choosing will be awarded $2,000 in cash and needed supplies! You can read more stories here!

I had a cat named Amos, who I loved very much. I adopted him as a baby, but when he was 5, he was run over by a car that didn't even stop. I felt I had lost a child.

PHOTO: ALEXA WALL

A few months earlier, my mom had also died very suddenly. At this point, there was so much death that I almost felt I was dying. It nearly overcame me.

A few months later, a friend who worked at a shelter reached out to me. There was a new kitten who needed a home, and she knew I needed a cat to feel at home.

PHOTO: ALEXA WALL

She came to me at 10 weeks old. She was so scared in this new place, she was shaking. She got accustomed in her own time, and she just felt right.

I named her Oasis, because that is what she is. That is what she was. It's been two years, and we are so close. She follows me around almost like a dog, and she lays on me every night to go to sleep.

PHOTO: ALEXA WALL

I don't know what I would do without her. My life was such swirling sadness, and she stepped in and saved me.

This story was submitted by Alexa Wall in support of North Country Animal Shelter. You can read more Rescue to Royalty Challenge stories here!