Arthur Animal Rescue: Purina Canada Happy Paws & Hearts Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We had some very high vet bills for several of our very special cats and kittens. This grant was so helpful for us to cover some of these extraordinary expenses. We try very hard to work with local vets to secure the best pricing that we can to help as many cats as we can. This grant was instrumental in helping the lives of these cats so that they could go on to be adopted into loving, safe homes.
How many pets did this grant help?
9
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
A local family contacted us when they saw Swiftie (first photo) crawling under their deck for protection, clearly very injured. They brought him food and water and a blanket to keep warm and saw the severity of his injuries. They immediately contacted us and Devon, our adoptions coordinator, dropped everything and drove over to pick him up. On her way to our vet coordinator’s home, she had to pull over a few times due to the overwhelming smell of his infection. She had the honor of naming him Swiftie and felt an instant connection with him; she committed to fostering him after his emergency vet trip.
Swiftie was immediately transported to the Animal Hospital of North Fergus, where he underwent emergency surgery to amputate his back leg. It was apparent he had been mauled by an animal days ago, with his back leg taking the most damage. His leg could not be saved and sepsis was setting in. In addition, he had a broken canine that needed removal.
After surgery, it took Swiftie longer than average to bounce back and regain his strength. He was placed on a heavy dose of antibiotics and pain management and spent a few days in the car of Dr. Shannan’s team.
Upon his discharge from the clinic, he went back to Devon’s home to recover and soak in all the love and treats he could ever want. Swiftie was never claimed and it became clear over the months of his recovery that he had found his forever home. Devon adopted Swiftie and he is living his best tripod life (second photo)!
This grant also helped Chester (third photo), who lived on the streets of Guelph for eight years after being left behind when his owner moved. A friendly neighbor had been feeding him, but one day he showed up and was in rough shape. He had been in some fights and was just worn down from living such a challenging life.
Chester, like so many feral cats, tested positive for FIV. He was brought in by one of our coordinators, who continues to foster him. He is up for adoption. His medical bills included wound repair, antibiotics, several follow-up trips to the vet, and also extensive dental work.
Clara Bow (fourth photo) and her six kittens (fifth photo) were doing so well in their foster home until they all started to present with a mysterious neurological issue. After many tests, medications, and vet visits, they all recovered except one kitten, who had a recent recurrence of the head-tilt and wobbles. Clara Bow is currently up for adoption on Petfinder and five of her six kittens have already been adopted through Petfinder into their furever homes.
Cornelia, London, Marjorie, Willow, and August were all adopted with the help of our Petfinder postings. Clara Bow and Chester are still posted for adoption on Petfinder and we hope they will find their furever homes soon!
