No man left behind………

May 23, 2012 · Filed under Daily Activities

Around this time in 2011, we were rescuing several seniors and sick kitties from a high kill shelter that was so out of control that I really hate even replaying all the wrongs being done to animals at that time. (Since then, things have done a 180 with a new group taking over, thank goodness) Without a ton of resources, we just rescued those that appeared to need us the most and prayed for the others still there.

There were 3 seniors that had been dumped by their family during this time into this shelter. At the time of the original pull of kitties from the shelter, we only knew there were two, and we pulled them at the same time. Then a couple days later, we learn that a third kitty was in this family. Well, we couldnt leave the third family member behind, so we went back to rescue him also.

All three of these seniors had many health issues, it was clear their family hadnt given them much veterinary care. Or maybe that was the reason they were dumped, because they needed too much veterinary care? No one will ever know. Jazzy was hyperthyroid and in kidney disease, she was taken into what we call our hospice foster home. Now, believe me when I say, in this case, “hospice” doesnt mean imminent death, it just means that they need lots of care with medical issues that are lifetime. Here’s gorgeous Jazzy

Hemingway was another mess, he looked horrible and was very depressed. We ran all sorts of tests on him but every time it was just a high white blood cell count pointing to infection and antibiotics would help but never get it back to normal.

And then there was Oliver! (the one we went back for after finding out he was also a part of this family of three that had been dumped)  No front claws, horribly skinny and always starving (and quacking) for food. As we begin the medical care on Oliver, his issues are many. Oliver’s big issues were kidney disease, high blood pressure and the worst, a bad heart 😦 After seeing a cardiologist, we find out that his heart has a blocked valve and they tell us that we could just find him “gone” at any time.  We were all so saddened but at the same time, we were so happy to be able to pull this guy into our shelter/sanctuary where he could live out his life; he wouldnt die in a cold shelter, sick and alone. Check out this handsome boy!

So we then decided to reunite these boys after a couple months apart, check out what happened.

An amazing couple emailed inquiring on several kitties and specifically wanting to give a special needs kitty a family. They came in to visit many and Hemingway (now Miller) stole their hearts but they had just lost a special kitty and were only looking for one and Oliver had so many needs. So after some careful thought, we sent Hemingway home with this family. I thought long and hard about this, but just couldnt justify keeping Hemingway here when we didnt even know how long Oliver would even been around. By this time, Oliver had also lost his sight, totally blind. When Hemingway went home, we moved Oliver to a cage behind the counter where we could watch over him closely and give him lots of love.

Over this past weekend, we got a call from Hemingway (Miller’s) adopter inquiring about Oliver; was he still here and how was his health? We gave them a rundown of all that was going on with Oliver and on Sunday, here comes that adopter to visit with Oliver again. To now cut to the chase, they ADOPTED Oliver! A kitty with so many health issues and truly they could lose him at anytime, but they were willing to give him a family, for whatever time that is!

In a throwaway society with more homeless cats then people looking for one, this is a seriously special family! The adopter called when she got home to verify one of the meds and she said Oliver was safe in a cage to rest and would soon be reuniting again with Hemingway!! I thanked her with tears running down my face for giving these special boys the family they deserved and more importantly for her selflessness. She said she just didnt stop thinking about the saying ‘No man left behind” and she just had to come back for Oliver (medical mess or not!) and they did! Oliver was a case of being “no man left behind” more than once….when we found out he was part of the family of three dumped at that shelter and went back for him and now. After hanging up the phone, I looked over at his empty cage already cleaned out and felt my breath taken away for a second. I had always thought that when I saw that cage empty again, it would be when Oliver passed away, my breath returned and a smile through tears knowing that was not the case at all. He was in a family again, his last family and soon to be reunited again with his brother.  Some things are just more than we can ask for………… may you have many more years Oliver, you have been through so much, time to unpack those bags!