Respect ALL Life…
(The article below is typical of what many animal welfare and rescue workers face daily – the ignorance of the general public and the fear it drives are a large part of the challenge we face – animalman)
On Saturday afternoon, 3rd September I received an S.O.S. call.
A lady residing in Northriding had a badly injured cat on her property and needed assistance, could I please rush to help as the SOS calls had gone out, but no-one was available at the 11th hour….
I agreed and got the contact details and called. On speaking to the lady – I asked a lot of questions:-
· HOW badly injured is the cat? – she replied, “rather bad, lot of blood and just lying down”
· HOW big or small is the cat? – “looks rather small”
· WHY had she not taken the cat to the nearest VET as this injury was noticed on the Friday already and now the situation was dire? – “I think it is wild, like feral and I am too scared to go near it in case it bites me and I can’t stomach blood etc and my brother is allergic so I am also probably allergic to it”
I took the address details, directions, took extra towels and blankets in my cat carrier and stinky cat fish food and set off under the extreme assumption that I was going to have to attempt to trap a very badly injured feral cat.
I got to the house rather quickly and the lady was waiting for me by the gate. She was extremely nervous and led me through the house into the kitchen and out the back door to the cemented patio by the servants quarters.
WHAT I saw with my eyes just made me fall on my knees and break into absolute sobbing tears….there on the cold cement lay this tiny black kitten approx 3-4 months old, in a pool of blood by its legs and tail, a huge gaping wound visible from the shoulder back legs, tail completely gone – just bone and the stench of decaying flesh as maggots, millions of them were eating the flesh away like vultures and Oh Dear God, I just prayed as I thought this little thing was already dead…..and then I noticed the front paws were twitching…. I got up off my knees and as I bent over the kitty – it lifted it’s tiny head and looked at me with those purest green innocent eyes. I just gently picked it up and wrapped it in the towels and the blankets and put it in my carrier and I asked the lady to just direct me to the VET immediately who was as pre-arranged by the SOS person on to be on emergency standby for me.
When we got to the Veterinary Practice, the lady gave me money and said she can’t stay as she can’t handle things like this and I must ensure that we save the kitty’s life, whatever it takes……I was so angry, still in shock, still in tears and did not want her anywhere near me when that is all she had to say about the little soul …. We went straight into the theatre area, and the VET took one look at the kitty and was very taken back. He said, we can try – but this is shockingly bad and horrid. We shaved her and then we took her to the basin and put her under running just luke warm water and then I held her little head and paws in my hands and the VET held her back, what was left of it and attempted to start destroying the maggots. Shame, the kitty never flinched once and never made a sound while under that water. We did this for almost half an hour, then we took her and laid her on the blanket and towels and dried her off and the maggots were still pumping under the skin and still falling out. The VET carried on removing them and then he showed me – the shoulder bones of the back legs and the central nerves were already been eaten away ferociously by the maggots and that the use of the back legs would now be in jeopardy. Also, the tail was bitten/severed and tissue damage was substantial. One could operate to try and save, but there would not be the slightest percentage of hope or guarantee of recovery or survival – all because of the maggots that had already done the damage to the little body in the approximation of the last 5-6 hours of this Saturday. The VET said that if the little thing had come in prior to that time span – there would have been at least a 50% opportunity to save it’s life…..
Sadly, once again the VET left me to hold the kitty and be with it for about 20min while the sedatives consumed the body and lowered the BP in order to euthanise and let this fragile little life pass on……
I left the VET still sobbing my heart out …. the “Heavens” opened when I got home and it just poured with rain……. How I thank God that I rescued this little black kitty just in time to end it’s suffering and allow it to pass with dignity when I think of how it could and would have died on that cold horrid cement floor from that house and in pouring rain and in pain and agony ….
Thank you sincerely to Richard of Ivy Road Vet for allowing me to be present and very much involved to the very end.
I have not eaten much or slept much this past week….the memory is still very much with me and when I received this “Thought for the Day” from a friend on Friday…. I just knew I had to share this tragic event with everyone and appeal to HUMANS again…. “PLEASE RESPECT ALL LIFE”…..if the lady of that house had only called someone on Friday when she saw the kitty then already the consequences would have been so, so different. Yes – we don’t all have the ability in life to directly save or get involved in things, as we are all different, but WHY or HOW can you just stand by and watch while a life is dying….ultimately, I can conclude that if this lady passes an accident she will not call an ambulance or anything until it is too late….
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake.
Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way - Martin Luther King Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
Tracy-Lee Barrow
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