Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Almost Home - Peter's New Beginning

I thought today would be a pretty ordinary rescue day. I really looked forward to it, because I would be able to rescue FOUR cats. It's exciting when people contact me or the rescue and are ready for another foster cat.

I've had my eye on a very sweet neutered boy at the shelter with a VERY broken leg over the past few days. I figured he would be euthanized with this morning's "vet day", so was surprised to see him there:


You can tell in the picture his front right leg is in pretty bad shape.

One of the reception staff came into the back to announce that "Peter" owner was there to claim him! (The percentage of cats being claimed by their owners is very low, so when an owner actually finds their cat, it's really exciting.) The man puts Peter in a box and pays the $101.00 to the city for the impound fees.

THEN....the reception staff tells him that Peter is in a lot of pain and he'll need to go to the vets right away. The man looks at her and says, "No. I'm not taking him to the vets. I'll just wrap it up myself."

Holy Crap. He's going to wrap a compound fracture himself?

I'm hearing all this going on and am desperately trying to keep my mouth shut. Fortunately, the shelter would contact the SPCA and have them call on this guy to insure that he takes the cat to the vet.

Done deal, right? WRONG!

An hour later, I'm still at the shelter and this moron comes back with the cat in the box and tells the receptionist, "This is not my cat. Sorry."

Oh. My. God.

I couldn't stand it and I went into the lobby and took a peek in the box. "Peter" looked up at me with his mangled leg dangling and he started to purr. I could feel my eyes burning and I knew the tears weren't far off.

The vet tech at the shelter tells me that Peter has been in pain far too long and that he would be "sent out" to a vet clinic immediately for euthanasia. Peter was out of time.

I sat in my car for a few minutes in the shelter parking lot. I frantically started dialing numbers of people whose numbers I had memorized. I was crying. The injustice that this cat was *almost home* was more than I could stand.

Understandably, I can really get hurt while at the shelter, but once I leave the intense hurt will some times dissipate. Not this time. I drove the newly rescued cats to the veterinary clinic for their spay and neuters and started to cry when I saw the vet. He was disgusted with Peter's story, as was I.

When I arrived home, I called the shelter and asked them to give me 1 hour - ONE HOUR to try to find someone to help Peter. He was already at the vets, but they could give me one hour before he was euthanzed. Peter would no doubt need his leg amputated. He would need a foster home that could help him medically, and have a place where he could recover.

I went to Facebook and begged: "I have ONE hour to help a very sweet deserving cat with a broken leg. The shelter has given me 1 hour to find placement for him or he'll be euthanized. Please let me know if you can help. It's 1:30 pm now....There isn't much time left for this sweet boy. He was purring when I left him and I cried all the way home."

The messages and prayers started coming in immediately. Many thanks to Jenn L., Allison, Renee, Kate and Brandon who all came forward and asked the important questions and offered to help.

Then my phone rang.

It was Steve. Steve is the man that adopted my little blind Travis and Bucky. He saw my plea on Facebook and wanted to help Peter. Steve was the perfect solution for Peter! He's retired and has a small sunny spare room for Peter to recover. Bless his crazy heart!

I called the shelter and Peter is safe. :) All this transpired in less than 45 minutes. For one cat. I'm picking him up and taking him to the vets tomorrow.

Can somebody tell me how to explain all this to the rescue in which I volunteer? Peter is going to be an expensive cat....maybe I need to set up a donation fund for him....Any help for Peter's surgery would really help take the edge off things. Ahh...I'll deal with that tomorrow...

For now? Tomorrow is a new beginning for Peter - thanks to a lot of people who cared enough to save his life.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Beth

I'm a big fan of your blog and I recently got two new cats from the rescue you support. I currently have three cats so I cannot foster but I would love to donate to Peter's care. if you set up something, please email the details

Thanks for all the great work you do!! You can email me at danielle@tspgraphics.com

House of the Discarded said...

Danielle: Yahoooo!!! Email is on it's way! Thank you! Thank you!

Unknown said...

Beth - please set up a donation fund to Peter - we'll help!

Joanne said...

I can give you some money also. I can either email it directly to you or whatever you want. Not much but every little bit helps. I so wanted to take the pregnant mom but I had to run one of mine to the vet today and didn't email you. Email me joannesinger100@gmail.com and let me know what to do with the money..check, email transfer whatever. Keep up the good work. JOanne.

Crystal said...

Beth *happy tears* This is one of the saddest stories ever, but thankfully because of amazing people like you and Steve this special boys dreams will come true. Where would you like us to forward donations for Peter's Care.
Thank you for giving these cats, especially Peter a second chance at life and love.

Anonymous said...

I too would be happy to help. I used to foster and wish that I was currently in a position to do so, but since I am not, I'm happy to help out financially for Peter. Thank you for caring enough to help him. Please email me at sarah.hannigan@rogers.com

Ecochica said...

WHOA What a story! I will get the message out and hopefully get the funds rolling in! Congrats on the rescue to you and Peter!
xoxox
nicole

Kristen said...

I'd love to donate what I can to Peter's care. Beautiful story, please let me know how I can help.

House of the Discarded said...

I'm totally blown away that I'm actually getting people interested in helping Peter financially! There's hope that the rescue won't kick me out for rescuing an expensive cat. LOL

Tomorrow, I'm going to post some ways to donate and an update on Peter's rescue.

Bless you all for everything! Y'all *rock*.

-Beth

Anonymous said...

What a lucky boy!! How do I make a donation to the rescue group?

Kim said...

WOW! Amazing Amazing people on here! Thanks Beth for being in the shelter at the right time today. I can't thank everyone enough for Peter's life.
Kim

Anonymous said...

God Bless you!

Michaela said...

Beth what an amazing story! unbelievable its stories like this that make me miss the vet! im glad to see the rescues so successful! - Michaela

Cat said...

Hi Beth,

You are amazing, I'm so glad that you were able to save Peter.

We have just spent a bomb in vet bills this last week on our new kitten and my 19 year old girl with the thyroid problem, but I would love to make a contribution for Peter and his surgery. I will keep an eye on your blog for info, or you can email me if that is not too much trouble.

Christine Gittings said...

Okay, I'm adding you as a facebook friend so that I don't miss messages like this in the future.
I'll be looking for the donation info later today.
Sooooooo happy for Peter.

Lisa said...

Sign me up for Peter's fund! Just because I can't foster doesn't mean I can't help out!
Great timing that you were actually there for that and you could give Peter a second chance!
I hate when people abandon cats that way rather than stepping up to bat. Peter's lost leg may actually be his blessing because he'll definitely end up in a better home!

Joanne said...

I also have some money for Peter's vet bill that I would really be happy to contribute. Please let us know how and the money is on it's way. Thanks for saving him...Joanne.

Caroline said...

Hi Beth,
I'll send a donation too. I'm already sending one for another cat that the rescue had leg work done on. Poor rescue's gonna be in the hole again. Hopefully they will still foster the neutered shelter cats, that at least saves them some money and still saves cats. I'm glad Peter came back despite the cost, he would have suffered with his owner. I can't believe someone would pay $100 for retrieval and not take him to the vet for a broken leg. Good job St. Beth!

Joanne said...

I forgot in my last post but I really wanted to say thank you to Steve. Boy, you are one amazing man....what a heart. If there is anything Steve needs help with for Peter, please give him my contact information or let me know and I will be delighted to help him. They have special litterboxes for disabled cats, toys, anything. I wish I could have taken Peter but my house would be a little much for him. Steve, you and Peter are both one in a million.

Elizabeth said...

Beth I love this story. I was crying my eyes out saying this story better end with a happy ending!

I'm curious about cute black guys mom. Is she still alive? Has anyone taken an interest in her? I would love to take her in but I live in Philly. I'm not sure what i'm about to suggest is even possible as we wouldn't want to stress her out too much and I don't know your rescues policies.

If you know anyone heading down to Philly or even New York we could possibly do a transport for the girl. I have a friend who is going to college in NYC who could take the train down to jersey and i could pick her up from there. I know this is a long shot but something about her photo has me mesmerized. email me (reuning@hotmail.com) if you think this is possible. I have a second bedroom with a part of the room just for foster mommies and kittens, aswell as awesome personal vet references. I also know how to bottle feed kittens and worst comes to worse can help a stressed out mommy keep up on feeding her babies.

Also just to brighten your day I had my last foster kitten adopted last week and decided while i was there i would pick up a new litter. Well the shelter didnt have any kittens or soon to be mommies for me. In fact the intake and isolation rooms were just about empty. For once in my life I was happy to go home empty handed!

RHz said...

This was seriously one of the best stories I've ever read on your blog. The happy ending is the best.

Steve Bartlett said...

Thanks Joanne -- I think he'll do fine. It's a front leg, so he shouldn't have too much trouble with a litterbox if it does have to be amputated. I'm just wondering what he'll do, once he's recovered, when he finds out he's with six other cats and three very cat-friendly dogs.

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely interested in contributing to Peter's costs too. Looking forward to reading the info on how.

JOanne said...

Steve, I would like to buy Peter a nice,soft cushy bed for him to recover in and some toys for later when he is feeling better. Beth will tell you how to get in contact with me so that I can get them to you. This little boy broke my heart...I wish I could have fostered him but bless you for stepping up yet again. I have never met someone with a heart like yours...I really hope he doesn't have to have the leg amputated. I have my fingers crossed that maybe they can set it and it will heal. I can't imagine the pain of suffering with a broken leg. Anything I can do to help you, let me know. He will be fine in your care, there is not a doubt in my mind. You rock man!!!!!!!!