Spotlight: Jensen

Keeping on the theme of special pets, Joa’s Arc's friend, Debbie R, wrote up something about a "less than adoptable" kitty she currently has. Deb writes:

I have a kitten that was brought into a local animal hospital by a good samaritan. The kitten was underweight and had damage to the nerves in his shoulder (I'm not a medical person), but I think it was the plexis - he drags his front paw backward from the "wrist". His shoulder also drops down somewhat. Because of this, we thought the kitten was going to need the leg amputated.

Now in my care, this kitten is being seen by an orthopedic vet. Oh, and he has a name now too - Jensen.

At the most recent ortho visit 3 weeks ago, it was decided to work on stretching the leg muscle in Jensen's damaged leg because it seems Jensen is able to lift his leg from the shoulder somewhat now. So, we are now hoping to not amputate and have a brace made for the "wrist" so that Jensen does not get a wound from dragging.

He will be having a follow up appointment soon with the specialist again to see how he is progressing.

Jensen is absolutely an adorable, sweet little boy and gets along with other cats and dogs. He loves to sit on the end of the couch, watch tv and fall asleep... and his "disability"? It doesn't keep Jensen from running all over the place, torturing those in his path and when you sit down, he runs to jump in your lap. He spends his evening sitting with me and then running over to sit with my husband, then back to me again - he's a true people-cat.

Jensen isn't quite ready for adoption until his orthopedic issue is resolved. After that, he will be neutered, combo tested and of course be up to date on the appropriate vaccinations, worming, flea treatments.

If it weren’t for a truly compassionate vet, several vet techs (including my rescue friend, Chrissy), this little guy would not be here.

A great big thank you to Deb, Chrissy and everyone involved keeping Jensen alive, comfortable and healing.

Interested in possibly adopting Jensen when he's ready for a home? Contact us to get in touch with Deb.

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Adopting a "Less Adoptable" Pet

It seemed fitting to start this week off with a successful adoption story - even if it wasn't one of your animals :)

Joa’s Arc's friend, Chrissy, writes:

I recently adopted a "less adoptable" pet earlier this month and I can honestly say it was the best choice I have ever made. I was going back and forth on what kind of dog I wanted to adopt and knew from the start I wanted to adopt an adult.

What I didn’t know was that there were so many wonderful “special needs” dogs out there that needed homes. My good friend, Debbie, had recently adopted a senior dog and I was so proud of her decision to take in something that other people just discarded that it empowered me to follow in her footsteps.

After doing some research I found Louie.

Louie is an 8 year old Great Dane who was left in a home after a foreclosure to die alone. When the home appraisal people came into the house to evaluate the home they found Louie nearly starved to death in the kitchen. Louie was then transferred to a high kill animal shelter where his kennel run was so small that he couldn’t even lie down and could barley turn around. Louie was scheduled to be euthanized later that afternoon due to the severity of his medical needs. Louie was saved by one of the staff members there who placed a call into the Great Dane rescue. The Great Dane rescue believed in a hope for Louie and gave him a chance at recovery.

Today Louie has been happily adopted by my family where we can not imagine not having him. Louie is on several medications a day and is currently going to dog physical therapy to help build up some muscle mass that was lost during his bad days. Louie is thriving when his new doggy brother, Ben, and we are so thankful everyday to have been the chosen ones for Louie.

Adopting a less adoptable animal has been the most rewarding experience imaginable and from this point forward we will always be a “rescue” family with a “special needs” dog. I consider ourselves to be the lucky ones in these stories, to be able to experience such love and appreciation from our rescued friends.

Sincerely,
The Kellner-Filer Family

Interested in looking into adopting an older special needs dog after reading about Louie? Check out Sampson.

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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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Spotlight On Weenie

The fall makes us think of lots of things - pumpkins, changing leaves, warm apple cider ... and Halloween. Meet Joa’s Arc Halloween (aka "Weenie")! Weenie is a beautiful calico girl in need of a new home due to her owners moving away and not thinking to take her. Maybe it was for the best though. Weenie had been living as an outside cat, but she is very affectionate cat who deserves a loving, safe inside home.

In updating Weenie with her vaccinations, Weenie's first foster mom found out that Weenie is FIV+. Weenie could live in a home with other FIV+ cats or, honestly, in just about any home! FIV is not as scary as it sounds.

Though you should do some research for yourself, here are some basic facts:

• - The "F" in FIV stands for "feline," so humans and dogs can't catch it.
  
• - The only way FIV is passed through spayed/neutered cats is from deep, deep bite wounds during fighting, which can be avoided with proper introductions like when any new cat comes into a home.
  
• - the viral strains of FIV used in laboratories were very virulent, and much previously published information is based on this. However, FIV strains in cats living normal lives tend to be much more benign and may never cause disease. *keep this in m ind when doing research*
  
• - T he FIV virus has a long incubation period, so a cat who tests FIV+ may live free of FIV-related disease for a lifetime.

Back to Weenie though – she is a gorgeous cat who gets along with other cats (she lived with two other cats before who were both FIV negative) and she is very affectionate with people too as her foster family can tell you. She is playful, talkative and an all around super cat! Please consider adopting her because she really deserves a super life.

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. 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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