The idea for this story came from my 6 year-old niece in early 2022. She asked if I could write a story about my newly-adopted cat, Clovis. That was the inception that ultimately landed me with Story Xperiential. Thank you for inspiring your uncle to have a great summer drawing cats, Hattie.

Thank you to the incredible team at Pixar and Story Xperiential for hosting this program. It has truly been a dream of mine to do something like this, and I am so grateful to have been able to be part of the Summer 2022 program. I also need to thank each and every person who took the time to comment and provide feedback during this journey. My story has taken some turns throughout the 9 weeks and I know I wouldn't have gotten to this point without all of your valuable support and suggestions. THANK YOU.

Finally, a shoutout and all the love to my partner, who supported me financially in this journey from Day One. I love you, Dyren!

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What really happens after dark inside of an animal shelter?

"Shelter" tells the story of an abandoned kitten who was found surrendered on the steps of an animal shelter. Initially frightened and alone, he find support in a mysterious older cat who comforts and takes him in as family, even as human families seem to be passing him by for reasons unknown to him. This kitten soon decides to pay it forward and help out the other pets who need some extra love and support. While he may not know why certain pets are overlooked compared to others, he knows that each of them deserves the same amount of love and companionship as anyone else.

*Please consider adoption!*

With gratitude, Eric.

**On a personal note: life certainly has an interesting way of changing plans, doesn't it? Circumstances beyond what I could imagine really condensed the time I had hoped to improve the story and art. However, while this is not quite the exact story I had planned to make, I'm so proud that I was able to make it to the finish line and submit a project to the team. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my niece who inspired the story in the first place. Maybe she can also help fill in the gaps, too! I know she would make some really great sound effects to punch up the story reel. Also, who knows: maybe I'll have better luck in the Fall class :)