On Friday evening, we welcomed a very special new resident to Bella Bear’s Senior Pet Sanctuary: beautiful 18-year-old Gracie.

She immediately gravitated to the volunteer bedroom and hid under the bed. So we set her up there with all of her things from home. Her bowls, beds, litter box, etc. We try to make everything as familiar as possible the first week.

Gracie has quite a story. She was born in Kailua, Hawaii. She was found by one of Katie’s classmates near a bus stop just before the Lanikai Loop. She was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and she needed help.

Katie and her friends stepped in and nursed this little kitten back to good health. Gracie had bald spots in front of both of her ears at the time, which inspired her wonderfully fitting name — Gracie, after the one and only Grace Jones.

Around that same time, Katie’s grandmother, Christine, fell in love with her, And just like that, a little Hawaiian rescue kitty had found her person.

Gracie and Grandma Christine eventually boarded a plane from Oahu to California, where she went on to live the wonderfully pampered life every cat deserves. For nearly two decades, she has been deeply loved.

Gracie loves her treats and has plenty to say when she wants something. She loves cuddling in bed and kneading her paws into soft blankets. And apparently, once she really gets comfortable with you, she has a rather unique way of letting you know you're family: She wakes you up by putting her nose directly into one of your nostrils.

Now Grandma Christine is elderly herself and has reached a point where she can no longer provide Gracie with the care she needs. So on Friday, Katie entrusted this precious little lady to us.

At 18 years old, after a journey that began beside a bus stop in Kailua, took her across the Pacific Ocean, and gave her a lifetime of love with Grandma Christine, Gracie is beginning one more chapter.

She has found her retirement home here at Bella Bear’s Senior Pet Sanctuary, where she will continue to be pampered, cuddled, spoiled with treats, given plenty of soft blankets to knead — and loved for however much time she has ahead of her.

This is exactly why our sanctuary exists. Sometimes loving an elderly pet means recognizing when you can no longer provide everything they need and finding someone who can carry that love forward.

Grandma Christine loved Gracie for nearly a lifetime.

Now it is our privilege to carry that love forward for her.

Welcome aboard, sweet Gracie.