Adopt-a-versary

Six years ago today was our first official adoption. Gibson!!

Posted by Joa's Arc on Tuesday, February 23, 2016

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A Special Spotlight

This beautiful girl is Nickel from Almost Home Animal Shelter. Nancy wrote to Joa’s Arc about this wonderful girl because Nickel is definitely a cat that fits in with the Joa’s Arc crowd.

Our beautiful Nickel is one of those inspiring animals who teach us that beauty comes from within. Despite the injury she sustained trying to save her own life, she is one of the friendliest and most loving cats you will ever meet.

I received a phone call late on a Sunday afternoon in February 2010. A family went out to their shed to get some shovels out for the snow storm that was coming. It was already bitter cold outside. When they opened the shed they found a cat laying flat on the floor, barely breathing and very emaciated. The family called Almost Home Animal Shelter and I went to pick up the cat.

I wasn't sure she would even survive the trip to the emergency hospital, so I brought her back to the shelter. I put her in a bed on a heating pad and gave her some warmed fluids. In just a few minutes she was meowing and attempting to lift her head to look at me. I made her a "smoothie" of good nutritious food and began putting tiny portions on her tongue. In another few minutes she was lifting her head and licking out of the bowl! By morning she was sitting up, walking around, demanding more food and wanting to be hugged.

It was quite obvious that this survivor had sustained some sort of injury to her top lip. The vet couldn't quite understand where her top front teeth had gone or how she had damaged the lip so severly. So, I went back to take a look at the shed Nickel had been found in... I could see the splintered wood around the window where Nickel chewed trying to get out of the shed. Apparently Nickel's lip injury and missing teeth were sustained from her trying to set herself free from the shed she found herself locked in.

Nickel is a very normal cat despite her slight deformity. She eats and drinks normally. She prefers soft canned food, but she also eats crunchies too. If Nickel had her way she would sit on someone's lap all day long and she loves hugs & kisses. Nickel has the most beautiful green eyes. Her pictures don't do them justice because she is a bit camera shy. You can fool her the first time but she doesn't like the flash. Although she is queen of the office here at Almost Home, we here would all love to see her in a forever home.

If you are interested in adopting this special girl, check out her Petfinder bio for contact information.

It is "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week" this week! What a perfect week for the animals of Joa’s Arc. We have been posting every day with special needs animals in the care of Joa’s Arc. Keep in mind Joa’s Arc is constantly getting requests about animals in need like these special furbabies on our site. Even a dollar will help! Please donate what you can to the animals of Joa’s Arc:

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Deadly Hartz - Introducing Flea

Yesterday Joyce of Joa’s Arc got a call from a friend and fellow animal helper. A kitten had come into her shelter that they believed to be very neurologically impaired. However, after several calls to the person who surrendered the kitten, it was discovered that the kitten was a completely normal kitten until the evening before when the family treated the kitten with a Hartz flea product.

Within hours of being treated with the Hartz flea product, this normal, healthy kitten could no longer stand up on its own at all, it could not eat or see or maintain his body temperature which kept dropping dangerously low. After several baths and being given sub-q fluids at a local vet, Joa’s Arc was told "only time will tell". Joyce brought this poor baby home, gave him yet another bath, force fed him, kept him warm and did the only other thing she could think to do - she prayed.

This morning Joyce found a brand new kitten!! Now appropriately named Flea, he seems to be back to normal. Yay!! We really cannot say which helped the most, but Joa’s Arc and all who met this kitten are very thankful that the combination treatment did the trick. Sadly, that is not always the case with animals given Hartz products.

A perfectly healthy kitten needlessly suffered and after extraordinary medical measures, it was still unknown if he would recover, let alone survive. All because of a product that should absolutely be off the shelves! If you love your pets, do not use Hartz products - it can kill them!

Please check out these websites for more information:
- ConsumerAffairs.Com - Hartz
- Complaints Board - Hartz
- HartzVictims.Org
- Are You Poisoning Your Pet with Toxic Flea and Tick Products?

It is "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week" this week! What a perfect week for the animals of Joa’s Arc.

Check back each day for a new post about some of the great animals that are in our care or have found wonderful new homes thanks to Joa’s Arc.

Please note, we are now desperate for donations! Flea was an unexpected emergency intake and though he recovered after extensive medical care, he will still require the usual medical care as well: basic vet care, appropriate vaccinations and he will need to be neutered in several weeks if he is recovered enough for that. Any and all donations help. Please consider donating today:

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Introducing Tilly

Meet Tilly! Tilly is for Otilie which is German for "fortunate heroine" and I'm not sure there's a better name for this little girl! Let me start from the beginning though...

An old friend of mine called me Saturday afternoon to tell me that she has been noticing some ferals not far from the high school we went to together. She wanted information on who to contact about getting them fixed. Relating more to Joa’s Arc though, my friend was calling because not too long before calling me, my friend had seen a smaller, dilute calico dragging her back end (born that way? Hit by car?).

I made arrangements with my friend to meet her near by the next morning so she could show me to the place and we could look for the injured cat. We saw cats, lots of them - but not the one we were looking for. I helped my friend leave food for the cats (who looked to be living off the restaurant left overs and "slop" being fed to the pigs there). You can see in the photo that the orange kitty is eating slop and the little brown tabby with white is eating the dry food we put down. I was surprised they let us get as close as they did before running off - some would let us get within just a couple feet!

I returned for a second visit later Sunday evening and saw even fewer cats and still no signs of the cat with the injured back legs...

With the encouragement of all the other Joa’s Arc members and our supporters, I continued to look for this elusive, injured kitty. I went back Monday morning to feed the kitties and there were a few around, but not our girl. I gotta admit, I was a bit scared because no one was there this morning and there were like 75 vultures picking at the trash and eating along with the cats.

I left, but returned about an hour later. I pulled up where I had been parking for each visit and right in my line of view, sitting in the brush, was a dilute girl. Too good to be true, I thought! But as I approached her (these cats let you get pretty close before running), she got up to run and was dragging her back end! I'd like to brag, but she was pretty slow and didn't put up much of a fight. I went back to my car, got a big comforter and followed her little drag marks in the snow. She was just starting to go under the boat behind the abandoned house when I tossed the comforter over her. She hissed a little, but that was about it.

Medically, Tilly is in rough shape. She suffers from some sort of trauma to her back, though what caused it exactly, we may never know. She has sores on her feet from dragging her feet like the one pictured here. She got her vaccinations and when her sores heal, she can be spayed. Her paralysis in her back end makes her different, but she can still lead a wonderful life now that she's safe and warm inside.

Socially, Tilly seems very, very scared. We're hoping she's not feral and can eventually come around since she obviously cannot go back outside in her condition. Cross your fingers she comes around and learns to trust as her wounds heal.

So far, living outside as she was, she proven she's obviously a survivor. Tweet This

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

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