A Christmas Eve Miracle Rescue

As we were settling in for the evening, a distressing story appeared on our Facebook feed. It was a story about a little kitten who was in very bad shape. According to the post, she had no teeth, a severe infection, blunt force trauma, and was quite thin. Our director reached out to the team and shared the post. We quickly made contact with the woman who posted the Facebook story. Within minutes, one of our members was out the door, ready to retrieve this poor baby. It was a two-hour drive, but that didn't deter the Da Vinci's Dream team from rescuing this kitten. We knew she was suffering and needed help fast.

During the drive to this little mountain town in East Kentucky, our team member relayed information to our director and our vet tech. It wasn't clear what had happened to this baby, but we wanted to make sure there was a plan in place once we picked her up! Two hours had passed, and we reached the family who found this little girl. They did an amazing job keeping her loved, warm, and cared for. We were told that the baby started to purr and almost fell asleep in their arms. This was a great sign! The family had her in a carrier all ready to go and even donated a carrier (this was a huge help for reasons explained later) and her favorite wet food.

We placed the baby inside our car and headed home! The mission was successful; this little kitten would get all the care she needed. As we were driving home, a Facebook message came through. It happened to be in the same city that we were passing through at that very moment. Quickly pulling over, our team exchanged a few messages, and just like that, we arranged to pick him up. He's a large, sweet calico boy who had been getting beat up by a group of ferals. He had a large gash on his arm and next to his ear. He looked rough and tough and quite sad. We had to rescue him! Here's the synchronicity… Thanks to the family donating a carrier for the little kitten, we had a spare carrier in the car!

We met at a local Aldi's parking lot and picked up this big boy! We moved the carrier inside our car to do the exchange. As we swapped him into the other carrier, you could feel his wounds and the suffering that he must have gone through. He did not fight and scratch; instead, he melted into our arms as he knew he was returning to a safe home. We accomplished a side quest, bringing not one but two precious babies home. The rest of the ride home, both babies slept peacefully.

You could tell these precious felines felt peace, love, and security from all the loving hands that chose to give compassion over themselves. This was a team effort that required multiple people who could feel the suffering of an innocent creature and made the choice to give love. It was that love and compassion that gave these babies a chance to live a life without suffering. We thank all those involved in saving these babies and allowing us to provide a place of rehabilitation, love, and a life without suffering. There is no better Christmas gift than giving the gift of love and alleviating suffering.

"The question is not, 'Can they reason?' nor, 'Can they talk?' but 'Can they suffer?'"

- Jeremy Bentham