by Lorraine Monfils
A few weeks ago a gentleman came into the salon with a cat carrier. I asked him if I could help him and he said that he had a cat that was adopted from us and that its leg was broken. He had just come from the vet but could not afford the surgery that was required to fix the leg.
The cat was Black Beauty and had been adopted from us at the age of 12 weeks.
I immediately had him fill out the paperwork to surrender her back to us and get her to a vet. Black Beauty was seen by the vet almost immediately, the bone was sticking out of her leg and it was so badly broken the leg was going to have to be amputated.
Contributed photo
NEW HOME — Black Beauty, now known as Prudence, has overcome a number of hardships, but managed to find a loving home.
Through all of this Black Beauty was kneading and purring as if to say everything was going to be OK and that she was happy to see us.
Black Beauty was scheduled for surgery late that afternoon. By 5 p.m., the surgery was done and Black Beauty was resting comfortably. She would remain at the vets through the weekend so they could monitor her.
On the following Monday, Black Beauty came back to the Ark. The surgery was a success and she was up moving around and eating.
The vet did a remarkable job with the amputation. As many of you know black cats do not usually get adopted for whatever reason, whether it be superstition because black cats are bad luck or because they are black and not as flashy as other colors – who knows.
Black Beauty was now looking for another home and she wasn’t even a year old.
She had two marks against her: she was black and now she was a special needs kitty because she only had three legs.
But never say never.
The vet that did the amputation was touched by Black Beauty and decided to help us find her a home. On one of her farm calls the very next day she mentioned to the family that she knew of an awful sweet kitty with 3 legs that needed a home.
That was all it took. The people called and wanted to meet her. Black Beauty went to her new home that same night, a home where she will never want for anything, where she will be loved and get medical attention when she needs it and be an indoor kitty.
Black Beauty, now Prudence, will be living in a home in the country with other special needs cats and the world famous Buttermilk. Life is good.
All of the events that took place were made possible by a group of individuals working together whose common thread was their love for animals. We all had the same goal. To help a beautiful kitty named Black Beauty.
The gentleman that brought her in chose to do the right thing and get her the help he knew he could not give her, even though he could not afford the surgery he left a donation which helped. The veterinary clinic had offered us grant money for a surgery of this kind which helped cover part of the bill.
Dr. Emily, we are forever grateful for everything that you did for Black Beauty, including finding her a very special new home.
To the wonderful family that gave Prudence a loving home, you are the absolute best.
As for black cats being bad luck … what do you think?
This one little black kitty has touched so many lives for the better. It brought together a group of individuals, most of whom had never met and taught them by doing the right thing they can make a difference in the life of an animal.
Luck played a part in all of this. We all just happened to be in the right place at the right time. This little black cat is one of the luckiest kitties in the world. Prudence, we wish you the best in your new home and we will always remember the very valuable lesson that you taught us.
Black cats bring good luck to anyone who loves them. If you are thinking of adopting a cat, remember Prudence and her story and then do something you hadn’t considered – adopt a black cat.
For the month of June, the Ark brought in $19,402 in donations and fundraising. Our expenses were $4249. We took in two dogs and adopted one. We currently have 2 dogs. We took in 12 cats and adopted two. We have 38 cats.
Please join us on July 3 for Midnight Madness. We will be having a food court from 5 to 11 p.m. and on July 13 and July 27 we will be having a bake sale outside Hollywood pet salon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
