Ark Animal Sanctuary

By Lorraine Monfils
    Every day we work to make a difference in the lives of so many animals. We do what comes natural to us. Some days are difficult but most days are very rewarding. The story I am about to share with you was a difficult and sad experience. So why am I going to share it with you? Because I hope it will help educate everyone on the importance of neuter and spay.
    I received a phone call from a young lady who was very upset – her cat had recently had six tiny kittens. They were about 10 days old and the mother had stopped nursing them. I could hear the kittens in the background crying. I asked her how quickly she could get them to me and she was there in about 15 minutes. I had already prepared for their arrival by plugging in a heating pad and getting formula in a syringe with a nipple on the end to feed them.
    When they arrived they were cold and hungry. I knew I had to get their body temperature up before I could feed them so I placed them on the warm heating pad. They were so tiny, they looked like the size of kittens that had just been born that day, but their eyes were open. It was clear they had been born pre-mature. I explained to the girl that we would do what we could but in all likelihood kittens that small very rarely survive unless they have a mother. I also explained that there was a reason that the mother refused to nurse them, probably because she knew there was something wrong with them.
    I called our vet to find out how much and how often to feed them. They were to get three mls. of mothers milk every two hours and then we would need to stimulate them to pee after every feeding (this is something a mother would normally do). The kittens also had fleas so we had sit and pick them off because the fleas could make them anemic if they hadn’t already. The kittens ranged in weight from 3 ounces to 4 1/2 ounces.
    The alarm clock was set for every two hours, and we had our routine down to a science. We set up two crates as we fed them and stimulated them. We would place them in one crate so we could keep track of who was done. Once everyone was done, then they would be placed back in the crate with the heating pad to sleep for another two hours.
    There were four black kittens and two orange. The tiniest was a small black female kitten named Lucy then there was Tiny, Minit, Little bit, Chance and Uno. The kittens came in on a Wednesday. That Sat. little Lucy passed away, she was just too tiny to fight. We now had five tiny lives to try and save. Early the following morning one week after they had come in we lost two more within minutes of each other, Tiny and Minit closed their little eyes and went to sleep.
    Half of the litter was gone, but we were determined to help these tiny creatures in any way that we could. We were disappointed and sad that we had lost three, but we couldn’t dwell on the loss we had to move forward and try and help the remaining three.
    It was becoming more and more difficult to stay positive. We were doing everything the vet told us to do, they were critical care babies and the odds were stacked against them. They were eating but not gaining any weight. We would weigh them every day and they hadn’t gained an ounce. On Sunday Little Bit lost her fight  and passed away. The only two left were the orange males, Chance and Uno. They would cuddle together and sleep, they would cry when they were hungry and we changed their feeding schedule to every hour in hopes they would gain some weight. On Tues. Chance  closed his eyes and joined his siblings. Uno was the sole survivor, he would look at us with those tiny eyes and just melt our hearts. He had started purring and kneading, it was clear that he was lonely so we placed a clock along with a stuffed animal in his crate to comfort him, he would curl up in the arms of the stuffed animal and sleep. That Thurs. morning in the early morning hours Uno went to sleep and our tears would not stop.
    The hours invested in trying to save these babies was of no importance, it was just time and we have plenty of that. The bond that was established and the emotional attachment to these babies meant everything to us and that is why it was so hard to lose them. Did we make a difference in their lives? I ask myself that question everyday. I believe we did – when they died they were warm and their bellies were full and they were surrounded by people who loved them. Should they have been born? Absolutely not, the mother was not healthy enough to have kittens she should have been spayed. As a result six tiny, sick baby kittens were born. They had a strong will to survive and gave it their best shot, but in the end they were too sick to survive. Was the cost of a simple spay worth the pain endured by these kittens, what do you think?
    If you take nothing else away from this article please know that there are some things that we can’t control, but we can control the unwanted pet population simply by being responsible pet owners and neutering and spaying our pets.
    This whole ordeal left us discouraged and left us with so many questions. Are we making a difference? Do people really know what a responsible pet owner is or even care? Our questions and doubts were soon to be answered. The next morning the phone rang and we needed to place two dogs together — a little 4 year old shih-tzu and a 15 year old lab mix who had never been separated. We knew placing the 4 year old was no problem but almost impossible for the lab. Then the unthinkable happened. Another phone call came and a wonderful couple said they would take them both and they hadn’t even seen the dogs. It was love at first sight. The dogs couldn’t have asked for a better home. They are living like royalty. The shih-tzu is scheduled to be spayed and the lab mix has already been to the vet for a check up. Another phone call came and a lady had found kittens under her porch. She could hear the hesitation in my voice but she said, she want to keep them and get them altered. They just wanted to know if they could get some assistance. I gave her some information and hung up with a smile on my face. 
    A gentleman walks thru the front and hands me a check for $100 and said “Here I have something for you, you do good work.” Later that day someone came into adopt a cat and met Yevette. This little kitten had been found and was not in good shape at all. She was malnourished, loaded with fleas and very sick, clearly not ready for adoption. The lady inquired about her and I explained she was too sick to adopt. She offered to take her to the vet and care for her until she was strong enough to adopt. Yevette is doing much better and is officially going to her new home on Saturday.
    All of these people chose to step up to the plate and help an animal. They didn’t wake up that morning looking to own another animal, they were all put in situations where they could just walk away and do nothing or they could make a difference and do the right thing, so they decided to do the right thing and be a part of the solution. We no longer have any doubts. We do make a difference every single day.
    For the month of October, our expenses were $1,943 and we took in $2,178 in donations and fundraising. We took in four dogs and adopted three. We currently have three dogs. We took in 11 cats and adopted 10. Six kittens passed away. We currently have 66 cats. The adoption fee will be waived again for the month of November to approved applicants.
    Join us for pulled pork and  bake sale outside Hollywood Pet Salon on 11-5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. We will have a bake sale on Nov. 19 outside Hollywood Pet Salon from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Dec. 3 we will have our Miracle on Mechanic Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and we will be doing the Twelve Dogs of Christmas again the is year. Thank you for your continued support and thank you for reading our article.