We trust our pets more than we trust most beings—we trust them to keep our thoughts and secrets safe (unless parrots), we trust them to never judge us. In that bond, the freedom to grow and create is fostered. SAD Mag is pleased to present a collection of haikus written by the brilliant Sarah Ens safely and with trust in Balto the Instagram Cat.

From Balto's Mom, Sarah Ens:

I originally began my Balto Instagram account to justify the thousands of photos I was taking of my dumb angel cat Balto, whom I adopted last summer when my sister’s friend’s cat unexpectedly had kittens. The project quickly changed from a silly idea to an experiment in creative discipline, vulnerability, and, most surprisingly, confidence. I'm not often one to share personal thoughts and feelings on social media, but through the fuzzy alias of Balto, I found myself learning to trust the validity of my work and become more comfortable with the idea of taking up space—particularly the insta space of 17-syllable cat captions.