Around this time of 3:00, Stella jumped onto the bed and lay down beside me. I petted her, and this got me thinking, what if I wake in the morning and she's messed the bed? What if I find another surprise at the foot of the bed in the morning? And there I lay awake, debating the pros and cons of dumping Stella. No, I decided, Stella would stay, even if I had to get around the apartment with a roll of Bounty towels strapped to my body. This was her home, and I loved her. I could not be so cruel to dump her in a shewlter where she knew no one, where she would be frightened out of her wits, and where she might be euthanized. I couldn't spend whatever time I have left worrying wheter she was cold, safe, happy, or alive.