Just Do What You Can, When You Can.
by Cory Cooper W
HILE MANY OF US don’t think to make worst case scenario
arrangements for our pets, long time Tampa Bay resident, Crystal, wasn’t one of them. Even though her close friend Mary didn’t live in the same city, she had secured her promise to find homes for her two little best friends in the event any- thing happened to her. What Mary had not expected was the need to do that in one week, during the Thanksgiving holiday. After being stranded in
Crystal’s apartment for three days without food or water, Crystal’s two cats had now spent another week by themselves with a local friend dropping in to feed them. By the time Mary contacted
TampaPets on Facebook she had exhausted every cat rescue and was beside herself. She was now dealing with the added pressure of the apartment being cleared out in four days’ time. We read the absolute desperation in her mes- sage and, even though we knew that the cat rescue groups were overwhelmed, decided to help her. We had literally no idea of how we could do that. My first call went to Tampa’s hardest working cat rescuer at
at that point, but all we ended up with was a jaggy video with cats howling like mad. Pet Pal took both cats, holiday weekend and all, and made sure they ended up at Pandora’s in under a week. Given the trauma they had
Best friends, Crystal and Mary.
experienced plus the fact that Maikai was 12 years old and Chanel was an ear-tipped ex- TNR kitty, we collectively crossed our fingers and consoled Mary practically every day. We all felt that being around the love fest created at Pandora’s Playhouse would be their best possible chance to find a new home since people can really get to know a kitty there. It took a little while but, sure enough, both calmed down, purred their way into new hearts and were adopted within a month.
Mary had pledged she Chanel and Maikai.
would help with the vetting cost and make a donation, so we helped her set up a fundraising page. Sure enough, Mary’s efforts
and Crystal’s friends came through. Being able to keep her promise and honor her best friend by helping many more homeless pets brought a ray of sun to a very sad time. Losing a friend, two or four legged, is always heartbreaking.
St Francis Animal Rescue. She was also dealing with a major crisis and just couldn’t take on any more. My second call went to the illustrious editor of The New Barker, Anna Cooke, knowing that she quietly roams the State and knows just about everyone in rescue. She reminded me about Pandora’s Playhouse, a cat sanctuary that the wonderful owners of Pet Food Warehouse built in their store. Anna suggested I call Pet Pal Animal Shelter's Scott Daly, who places cats at Pandora’s. PetPal could help, but we needed to transport and supply
their vet papers. Enter Central Bark owner and TampaPets vol- unteer, Amy Smith. We coordinated getting into the apartment – which was quite the experience. Thanksgiving weekend, peo- ple out buying Christmas trees – it’s not the ideal time to coor- dinate landlords, keys and planned family obligations. By the time Amy entered the apartment, the cats were so
stressed that Crystal’s bed had to be taken apart to get them, and the vaccination records were nowhere to be found. Amy got them to Pandora’s, but without papers, they had to go to Pet Pal first for medical evaluation and shots. Amy tried to get a picture
22 THE NEW BARKER
The fact that friends, strangers and businesses could create a chain of events to ensure Crystal’s fur kids found new forever homes made it a special Thanksgiving memory for all of us. It reminds us to just do what we can…every day.
U
St. Francis Society Animal Rescue.
StFrancisRescue.org Pandora’s Box at Pet Food Warehouse is a dedicated room showcasing adoptable Pet Pal Animal Shelter kittens and cats. Interaction is encouraged. St. Petersburg, 727.521.6191. Pet Pal Animal Shelter, St. Petersburg. 727.328.7738. Central Bark Tampa, having just celebrated 15 years in business, provides doggy daycare, boarding and training. 813.979.1123
TampaPets.org - No More Homeless Pets is a coalition of animal welfare groups working to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets in the Tampa Bay area.
www.TheNewBarker.com
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