Angels In December for a Dog

I received this email from Joa’s Arc founder, Joyce M, and just had to share it here:

Yesterday when driving to work northbound in Camden a few minutes before 11 AM, I was about to exit when a small dog came tumbling right in front of my vehicle. Obviously he had just been hit by a car and needless to say I was horrified.

I quickly stopped and jumped out. The dog was laying on the line between the exit lane and the "slow" lane. Of course, I started jumping around so the other vehicles would not hit the dog. I then grabbed a towel and started running to the dog.

About this time, I noticed an SUV on the shoulder near the cement divider that had stopped and a man was trying to get across the highway. We met at the dog, wrapped him in the towel and the man said, "I have to get it to a vet." He cradled the dog with such concern it touched my heart. I told him to take the exit and get on Rt 130, that there were vets at the Collingswood circle. I thanked him for his kindness as I was trying to get traffic to slow down so he could get back across the highway.

As I got into my vehicle I saw the man jump into the passenger side of the SUV, holding the dog to his chest gently petting the dogs head. The dog was moving at the time. I noticed another man was driving the SUV as they took off in search of help for this poor dog. I sat in my vehicle crying, praying that this poor creature survives and thanking the good Lord that these men actually cared. The dogs only visable injuries were blood in his mouth...

After a few hours and many many phone calls to local vets, the U of P ER, and shelters, I found the dog at Voorhees Veterinary Center. I spoke with Melissa who told me one of the men's sister was a vet tech there and so the dog came there. The men did not hit the dog, they were behind a vehicle that did and that person just kept on going. The dog only suffered minor injuries to his mouth. I inquired about the bill for the dog wanting to make a donation and she told me it was a charity case: there was no fee! She said they notified CCAS since it fell in there jurisdiction and they were required by law to do this. CCAS contacted Animal Control who said someone had report a dog that fit that description as missing that morning. The men were meeting up with the possible owners and if it was not their dog, the dog would come to CCAS for the seven day hold required by law. One of the men said if the dog was not claimed, he wanted to adopt it.

I thanked Melissa for helping the dog then hung up in tears. I get so angry at people because of how they treat their animals and sometimes think people are horrible but these two men are angels, they save a poor dog from death. I want to thank them and Voorhees Vet Ctr for helping. To others this may be nothing but to me, it was a miracle right before my eyes.

~ Joyce Moyer Tweet This

Gibson Medical Update

It seems our poor boy is currently in medical limbo at the moment. After recovering remarkably well from running into a moving vehicle, Gibson stopped eating and spiked a fever in his foster home. Along with a list of other things, including an enlarged heart (which is "normal" again now), Gibby was diagnosed with non-regenerative anemia - basically his red blood cells weren't "resupplying" themselves. Once we were told of the anemia, we were advised that the best place to go would be the University of Penn and that the best option as far as testing to find us answers would be a bone marrow test.

Up until this point, Gibby was being cared for the wonderful staff at the facility his rescuer Rick had taken him to when Gibson ran into Rick's car. We decided to seek a second opinion of our trusted Dr. John at Tri-County Veterinary Hospital.

This type of anemia would be classic for Feline Leukemia, however he has now officially tested negative for that twice now. Yes! We had him re-tested just in case. So, our only other theories were pretty poor - that of all the cats to run into kind hearted Rick's car, it was a terminally ill kitten whose life could only be prolonged with frequent blood transfusions, a painful procedure and only a temporary fix.

However, after seeing Dr. John we are now being cautiously optimistic about Gibby's condition.

Dr. John has a theory that Gibby had so much happen to his body at once when he smacked into Rick's car door that his red blood cells were a minor problem that fell to the bottom of his body's 'priority list' of things that needed to be recovered.

Right now, Gibby's temperature continues to remain fairly normal and he's eating - he's even put on weight! In a couple weeks, Gibby will be returning to our wonderful Dr. John for more blood work to see how his red blood cell count it.

His foster mom, Joyce, recently wrote: "I think Gibby is missing Petey (his neurological foster buddy who recently passed away; pictured curled up with Gibby in a cat bed), he wouldn't leave me alone while I was drying my hair: biting my feet, running in circles, attacking my legs, etc. So I threw a towel over him to see how long it took for him to come out. The result? ... let's just say Gibby would still be under the towel if I didn't remove it. Of course, as soon as I did, he was right back at attacking my feet. What a character!"

Keep your fingers crossed for this brave little guy. Tweet This

Nennee's Holiday Wish...

**Anyone that wants to see little Nennee, she willbe visiting Santa at the Deptford Petsmart behind Chili's on Saturday December 19, 2009 at 11:00 am. Watch out Santa, here she comes!!**

Joyce sent out an email recently that reads as follows:

Dear Friends and Family,
My new rescue, Joa’s Arc, is dedicated to helping special needs animals from shelters and rescues. All funds come from fundraising and go directly to the animals. I have done a webpage for Nennee, who's Holiday wish is to get eyelids - yes! you read it right: she needs surgery to repair her eyelids and this can't be done without your help.

If you are sending me a holiday card, please don't - donate a dollar or two to Nennee. If you are buying me something, please don't - make a donation to Nennee. It isn't that I don't appreciate gifts, but I don't need anything. I devote my heart and soul to these animals and helping them with your support makes me happy, so please consider donating to my cause.

~*~ Nennee's Holiday Wish ~*~

Thank you so much. Tweet This

More On Gibby

The good samaritan who not only felt awful when Gibby ran into his car, but was caring enough to go back and grab Gibby out of the road when he saw he was still alive (and has continued to love Gibson) wrote to me earlier this week. I had to share it (with permission of course)!

"Jen...

He is just so special. I know all of them are. He and I met in rather extreme circumstances. Has been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. He is a tough little guy and just totally cute...

Thank you and of course JoyceM and Joa’s Arc for helping this sweet angel...

Little Gibby has taught me much of faith and courage, and the importance that every life has. Nothing feels better, I swear, when I see him. Knowing how far he has come from the day we met...

Thanks for all you guys are doing to help him. :)"

Also, here's the most recent medical update on Gibson: Gibby is doing well as of right now. The phone consult with a University of Penn cardiologist went well.

Gibson does have pneumonia. Also, his enlarged heart is minimal and only time will tell if he needs to see the cardiologist and have an ultrasound. Gibby is clear for discharge and will be coming home. He will be closely monitor by his foster mom, JoyceM, for any respiratory distress or change in behavior.

Keep Gibby in your prayers, they're working. Tweet This

Introducing Gibson ("Gibby")

Looking at Gibson (AKA “Gibby”) earlier tonight and hearing him purr as I stroked his little ears, it is hard to believe he was a ever feral kitten running wild … and not just running wild, but running wild right into cars. Yes, that is how Gibson came to us – hit by car … or the accident was more like car hit by kitten. Joa’s Arc doesn’t deal with cars and obviously you can imagine which sustained more damaged anyway, so tonight I found myself loving up and encouraging a small kitten to get better quickly.

Late into October this fall, an animal-loving person was on his way to work when a kitten ran out into the road. The poor driver tried to avoid the little furball, but there was simply nothing he could do … he felt the “thump” as the kitten ran smack into his car. As he looked back in his mirror, his heart sank further - the kitten was lying in the road. He slammed on his brakes and turned right around to get the kitten out from the road unable to leave even the lifeless body there. However, as he approached the kitten, he saw it move its little head. Stopping traffic from further injuring the kitten, he wrapped the kitten up in a towel and took it immediately to the nearest vet office, Greenfield’s Animal Hospital.

The staff at Greenfield’s immediately took the kitten, who was named Gibson by this time – ‘good guy driver’ had decided in his panicked rushed to the vet’s office that if the kitten was going to die that day, he was going to at least die with a name.

Obviously, Gibson was severely injured, but was in good hands. A thorough exam showed Gibson had a head injury and bruised lungs, but thankfully (and luckily) no broken bones! Although he was in critical condition when he arrived, there was a chance for Gibby. Thankfully, Gibson ran into the right car (an optimistic look at things?) – not only was the owner of that car a huge animal lover, but he was friends with people contacted to groups that work with Joa’s Arc. We found out about Gibby almost the same time he was entering the animal hospital.

After sending some good vibes and prayers Gibson’s way and the magic of the team at Greenfields, two days after entering their facility, Gibson was stable and ready to go into foster care to be monitored.

At first Gibson was very quiet in his foster home (with Joyce M of Joa’s Arc – ER nurse and special needs animal sucker), which was okay by all parties since he needed to recover! Initially this “quietness” included him just curled up like a snail when being held and needing some assistance and guidance to his food so he could eat.

When he returned to Greenfield’s for a re-check evaluation, the staff all greeted him and everyone was surprised he survived such a devastating injury. Gibson was given the okay to now to free roam for short periods in his foster home and it was noted that due to his left sided head injury, he walked in circles. Gradually day by day the circles widened and slowly he started playing and acting like a normal kitten. He loves to eat and eat and eat and run with his foster “sibling”, another kitten in his foster home, Pudd.

Currently, Gibson is back at Greenfield’s. His foster mom noticed that Gibson was not interested in his breakfast (very uncommon with this little food hog) and made a vet appointment to make sure everything was alright. It was there that they found Gibby had a very high fever and needed to be admitted. After a chest x-ray and blood work, it was determined that Gibson had viral pneumonia with a bacterial infection – not all that uncommon for recovering, getting a lot of fluids and on cage rest, but still… what an emotional roller coaster!! After all he had already been through and survived, Gibson again was critically ill. Gibson is currently receiving IV fluids, two different antibiotics and top notch medical care. Gibson is again eating well and loving all the staff at Greenfield's.

Gibson is in our program, Joa’s Arc because although he seems normal, we are not sure what his future holds due to his head injury. He is a special little boy that is loved my many – the Greenfield’s staff, his foster family, the good guy driver (who has attended ALL Gibby’s vet appointments with his wife in order to visit & love up Gibson) and the people that he’s met so far during these crazy medical adventures he’s been on.


Please keep Gibson in your thoughts and consider making a donation to Joa’s Arc for Gibby and the animals like him who we love helping. Tweet This

Joa's Arc at Petsavers' Woof Walk

Thanks to Petsavers, Joa’s Arc had a wonderful time last weekend at their Woof Walk! Several of our dedicated volunteers, set up, hung out to greet all the wonderful people & pooches that made it out and chatted with the volunteers from STAF who were set up next to the Joa’s Arc table.


Our donated, hand-made scarves seemed to be a big hit and the awesome bird toys raised a lot of questions. The day was filled with good conversations, meeting & greeting, looking at great merchandise from various vendors, lots of doggies and some kind donations as well. I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time!


Thank you so much to Gloucester County's Petsavers and everyone that made the very first public event for Joa’s Arc such a great day!

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Nennee's a brat?

Recently Nennee went from her foster home with Joyce M to being fostered by Smithy. It's only been two days so far, but funny commentary is already going on as Smithy realizes what she's really in for. I just had to share these comments which were exchanged via email through out today...

Smithy: {Joyce M}, you are dead meat! This friggin' Nennee!!!! ... She climbed up my leg in the kitchen at least a dozen times tonight while I was making lunches and cutting up steak to feed to HER {it was rumored she's a very picky eater}!! She ate like she had never eaten in her life. When she was done eating, back up my leg while I was doing dishes. I finally left her hanging on my hip and she stayed there. Later, I caught her drinking my iced tea. Oh, Nennee likes sweet tea. She purrs soooo loud at night and we feel bad she's all by herself, so we let her sleep with us. I need silence to fall asleep, need ear plugs. She's a Pistol!

Oh and, Joyce, I don't know what you are talking about Nennee being a finicky eater, she'll eat anything ... oooooo I forgot: you don't cook! She likes people food! Popcorn, chips, steak, spaghettios, chicken noodle soup, chicken nuggets, pizza ... whatever you might try to put in your mouth, she'll eat!!!!

He, he, he, God she's lucky she's cute. I need a baby sling so I can just carry her around with me.


Joyce: Oh I forgot to tell you to cage her when you are eating. She loves your cooking. She called today and told me never to come get her. Tweet This

Petsaver's 2nd Annual Woof Walk

Announcing the new upcoming event that Joa’s Arc will be at:

Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Petsavers' 2nd Annual Woof Walk
Alcyon Lake Park
Pitman, NJ
9am Registration for the walk
Contests including: Best Dog Halloween Costume, Best Dog-Owner Look A Like, etc
Lots of fun activities!!
More info at www.petsaversnj.org

As some of you may know, Joa’s Arc was suppose to have our first public event at Save The Animals Foundation's Paws in the Park event last weekend. However, due to the dangerous weather conditions, the event had to be canceled.

We look forward to seeing all of you Sunday morning and hope you can make it out. ::fingers crossed:: the weather is beautiful :) Tweet This

STAF's Dog Walk

Save The Animals Dogwalk scheduled for Oct. 17 HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE WEATHER. Please check back soon to see when our next event will be. Thank you.


**PLEASE NOTE: We have a new event scheduled** Tweet This

Get Together

Volunteers of all ages...

and species (humans, kitties and dogs)...

came together for Joa’s Arc to work on different ideas for things to sell to raise money for our cause.

For starters, one unusual addition to our meetings and get-together's that I'm sure most don't include would be Nora. Nora the Cane Corso, was very good at supervising to make sure no one got out of line, like she is doing here while Joyce M is cutting material up. Nora is absolutely beautiful and a "special" former shelter dog herself. She was assisted by a local rescue and adopted out to her forever home with a friend to Joa’s Arc, So, it was nice to have her company at the get together ... minus the slobber and sloth-speed movements.

We made lots of fun toys for kitties, dogs and even birds! A foster kitten at Joa’s Arc's volunteer Smithy's house, Oswald (available for adoption through Furrever Friends Rescue & Volunteers, Inc in Woodbury, NJ), felt the need to test out some of the things we were working on mid-production. What a cute little helper! I believe we can now officially say that our cat scrunchy toys are kitten tested and foster mom approved! If you happen to buy any at the upcoming STAF Paws in the Park event (see sidebar for upcoming event info), let us know if your kitties love them too, please. This was our first attempt and being artsy and trying to make these toys ourselves.

We accomplished a lot that night together - attempting to put together all the cat toys, dog pull toys, assembling pieced for the bird toys ... and "torturing" kittens by dressing them up (the cane corso too found herself draped in fleece at one point). As payback and in the line of all goofiness, we needed to take advantage of Oswald's good-natured personality. This was not the only shot we got of this funny man and volunteer/founder Joyce taking advantage of him. What a cute kitten he is! He's available for adoption and hopefully will go home with his slightly shakey friend Spanky - consider adopting them! :)

We could not be more excited for STAF's event this weekend that we'll be at. Rain or shine - the event is on. So, please hope for no rain and lots of fun times. There's a pavilion in case it does rain and we'll have a little tent set up for our table too. Come out to join us if you're near by, please. Registration is roughly 8 - 9 AM for the dog walk, there will be goodies there for dogs & people and a blessing of the animals later on as well.

OUR 1st PUBLIC EVENT: STAF's Paws in the Park
When: Saturday, 10/17/2009 9am
Where: Fasola Park in Deptford, NJ

PS- Happy National Feral Cat Day :) Tweet This

Introducing Nennee

Meet Nennee! She's adorable, extra special and the first kitty to be assisted by Joa’s Arc. Nennee came into Gloucester County Animal Shelter at the beginning of this Fall with what was thought to be a horrible, horrible upper respiratory infection. Her eyes were almost always squinting or shut and weeping constantly. Nennee was sent to a special foster home in the hopes that being outside of the shelter and the aid of this experienced foster mom would be the trick to clear up Nennee's troubles.

On more medication and in her own foster home, Nennee's eyes still were not clearing up. However, as luck would have it, Nennee was in a foster home that had seen a kitten suffering like Nennee before. That kitten was thought to have had a severe upper respiratory infection also until a veterinarian informed her foster mom that the kitten actually had deformed eyelids. Though Joa’s Arc is still waiting a bit for a confirmed diagnosis on this, Nennee's foster mom is convinced from her experience that this seems to be the case with Nennee too...

If this is the case, Nennee will be spending the next few months growing, maturing and being a regular, playful kitten in foster care since any necessary surgeries cannot be done until she's bigger. Doctors' appointments will tell us where to go from there and how much help Nennee will need from Joa’s Arc. Should Nennee follow the same medical procedures needed as the last kitten her foster mom knows of, Nennee will require several surgeries to correct her eyelid deformities.

Please don't mind the darker coloring of this photo of Little Miss Nennee here. We were just trying to get a better photo of her eyes, but a lot of flashing from the camera just doesn't go over well with Nennee since her eyes are already such a bother to her. Though the photo is darker, you can see Nennee's unusual looking eyes. She tries real hard to look around like a normal kitten, but Nennee's eyes prevent that because of their deformity. Weepy eyes or not, she's still so darn adorable in every one of her photos.

They don't come much sillier than Nennee either. She wrestles hard (even with bigger kittens), like a shadow, she follows around the people she loves and Nennee is also a big talker - screamer too if she's not getting what she wants. She begs for food and attention. She has beautiful coloring and is still quite young. So far, she's gotten along fine with all the cats and dogs she's come into contact with. Aside from her "special" eyes, Nennee is like any other kitten and would make a wonderful addition to any family. For now, she's with Joa’s Arc.

When she is ready, Nennee will be available for adoption from Gloucester County Animal Shelter. She's not on their website yet, but lots of other furbabies are should you be looking for adopt.

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~ Announcing Joa's Arc ~

Joa's Arc
They're not handicapped, just extra special


A good samaritan approached a known animal-loving woman and explained to her that she knew of a wild kitten, somehow surviving outside without the use of her hind legs. What caused this, we will never know, but this is how Joa the paraplegic kitten came into one animal rescuer’s life and heart.

Though she had no use of her legs and little control of her bladder, Joa was a ball of fire – zipping around, playing hard and generally causing lovable havoc wherever she went. She is the perfect example of the fact that these special animals have no idea they are “handicap” and they are no less deserving of a loving home of their own. Sadly, not long after being adopted into a wonderful home, Joa passed away.

Joa's Arc wishes to help provide the opportunity, to pets like Joa, to know the love she had and provided.

Some facts:

• - Shelters have a very large number of animals coming into their facilities every day.
  
• - A lot of those animals also happen to have “special needs” ranging from broken bones to birth defects.
  
• - With so many healthy animals to worry about and very few resources, shelters cannot consider spending money on these special needs animals

Working as an auxiliary group of Save The Animals Foundation, Inc. (*UPDATE: As of June 2012, Joa's Arc is our very own fully functioning incorporated 501c3 non-profit organization!*), Joa's Arc wishes to aid shelters in the Southern New Jersey area with the financial care of special needs animals they would not normally be able to help or adopt out such as animals with severe medical conditions that need extensive specialty care from traumatic fractures, congenital issues, etc. Joa’s Arc realizes this is an area where we will be able to help others and help these extraordinary animals in the process to not only live a more comfortable life, but a more loved life as well as a potentially adopted pet.

Another great thing about Joa’s Arc? All our donations go to special needs animals. When donating to a local shelter with a cruelty case or neglected animal, extra donations can end up being used as general funds for the whole facility. Though these facilities need as many donations as possible, some people have a soft spot for special needs animals and strictly want their donations used for those types of animals needing extra care and love. Joa’s Arc only helps special needs animals, so our donations go to their care only. If we exceeded the donations needed for one special needs animal, any more donations will be used on the next special pet.

Through bake sales, tabling events, local craft fairs and kind donations, Joa’s Arc plans to fundraise to help shelters with the special animals they intake but cannot provide for with their limited resources. Joa’s Arc knows that these animals are no less deserving of love and a good home than any other animal.

Joa’s Arc works together with shelter to help these special pets get their own chance to be adopted.

Need Our Help?? Joa’s Arc is willing to help out whenever and wherever possible knowing that working together we can make a huge difference in the little lives of these special animals. Do you know of a shelter with an extra special animal that needs assistance? Are you a local rescuer with the space, but not the funds to help a special animal in need? Let us know and we will let you know if our assistance is possible.

Keep in mind, our objective is strictly to financially assist shelters with their special needs animals when possible. Joa’s Arc is not a shelter with a facility to take in any homeless animals! Shelters wishing for assistance must work with Joa’s Arc and be willing to supply foster care, food, transportation to medical facilities when possible and all adoption procedures once the animal is ready for a home of their own.

Do you have an idea for a great fundraiser? Are you willing to donate some time to help us spread the word on the work we do? Generously wishing to donate? Contact us!

Joa’s Arc
PO Box 243
Audubon, NJ 08106
Email: JoasArc@gmail.com Tweet This