Never Turn Your Back on an Animal in Need -- Part I

Our new cat Muggles is one lucky little kitty. One Saturday afternoon early this winter my husband, Andy, was coming home from Portland. In New Gloucester, near Mario’s Pizza, he saw what all animal lovers dread seeing, a little body in the middle of the road. Once again a cat had been hit by a car and left for dead, only this cat wasn’t dead.

As my husband drove closer he saw a paw reaching out and this scruffy, long-haired black and white cat was obviously trying to pull himself across the road. Andy turned around as quickly as he could and parked in the middle of the road with his emergency flashers on. Other cars whizzed right on by but two other people stopped to lend a hand. One woman who had stopped held the cat in her lap while Andy drove to the emergency clinic in Lewiston.

At the hospital the staff was terrific and decided “Mario,” named after the pizza parlor near which he was found, needed to live. We tried to find his human family, but of course, there wasn’t anyone to claim him. He is about 5-6 years old and wasn’t neutered and was very skinny.

Andy took me to meet him that night and I had serious doubts about his ever recovering from his injuries. He lay in his cage, not even strong enough to lift his head. He had head trauma and a badly injured leg. His eye was literally laying on his cheek and the vet did not think she would be able to save it.

We visited almost every night and before long Mario was limping around and becoming very affectionate with everyone. We had no intention of keeping him, but after a week of visits it was obvious he was coming home with us.

He spent ten days at the emergency clinic and then we transferred him to our regular veterinary hospital where he was neutered and had the ligament in his leg repaired. After a few more days he finally came to our house with a big cast on his leg, an eye he got to keep-but would never see out of again, and five different medications!

Well, it’s been about six months and Mario is now Muggles. His long, black and white fur is shiny. He’s not skinny anymore and he has quite a twinkle in his one good eye! He has learned how to play and gets along with his new brothers and sisters. He is now an indoor kitty and seems to be grateful for his new life. He’s enriched our lives as only these wonderful creatures can do and we’re so thankful that Andy drove home that day in to time to save him.

Submitted by Rosanna Toth, Lewiston, Maine

Editor’s note:
When Voice was first founded a woman who was a bus driver for a southern Maine school system told us of seeing a large dog lying in the middle of the road on her morning run. She saw him again when she finished dropping off elementary school students and by the time she had finished her kindergarten run she decided that if no one had taken this poor creature out of the road, she was going to.

Never Turn Your Back on an Animal in Need -- Part II

On a recent trip to Oregon, strolling through an urban Portland neighborhood at the start of the afternoon rush, I watched in horror as a young female cat attempted to cross a busy four lane street. Thankfully, many cars stopped and honked as she darted back to the relative safety of the sidewalk. I picked her up and carried her to the backyard of the home I was visiting. Exhausted and hungry she curled up on the porch and hardly moved for a week - except to eat.

Determining she was a stray, or a very neglected companion animal, I started a fast and furious effort to get to know the animal rescue landscape of Portland, and to try and find her a home before I returned to Maine. Portland is considered a progressive place, a generally ecologically friendly city, if such a thing exits, with a 5,000 acre city part, vegetarian restaurants as common as fast food chains, and an atmosphere of appreciation for the natural world. I assumed it would be easy to find her a home. Was I ever wrong!

To my surprise, a quick search of the web resulted in a half dozen organizations in the area involved in companion animal rescue. I posted on message boards, e-mailed every contact listed, and read every article I could find. Many kind people responded, offering encouragement, suggestions, phone numbers, and a view into the no-kill movement in Oregon, but I still had no offers to take her in. I was frustrated that in a city of half a million people I couldn’t find a good home for one cat. The Oregon Humane Society’s web site says that during kitten season ( April to October) they take in 1600 cats a month-with room for one tenth of them.

Finally, with one day left to go, I got the lucky break I was hoping for. One of the groups, Animal Aid, recommended that I take her to a particular veterinarian in the city, who had been active in feral cat work, to get her checked out and vaccinated. After a thorough check, it was determined that she was healthy and seven weeks pregnant. Hearing the story, a very compassionate staff member offered to foster her.

All told, I had received help and information from Voice For Animals type organizations all over the country, from Oregon to Utah ( Best Friends Animal Sanctuary), to California, and back to Maine – all via the web.

My point in sharing this story with you is this: most people don’t know where to turn for help or advice when they are concerned about a homeless animal, even in their own town. With the internet, we have an opportunity to connect people! I learned first hand how invaluable web sites are as an entry point into an existing network of animal organizations - and far from my home it made the difference for one very needy cat.

I've since learned that she, now Caroline, was quickly adopted to a loving home (thanks to the efforts of the vet's office and it's staff) and was not pregnant after all, but had simply overeaten in her time with me and had become very round as a result!

Please join our message board and forums, add new ones, become a moderator, share information ... Get the word out! Send us your suggestions for posting information that you will find useful.

Submitted by Seth Mercier, Waterville, Maine
Seth is a member of Voice for Animals. He and Tim Cottle have worked on our web site to make it user friendly.

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