Found outside a bakery in New London, Barry was in horrible condition. He’d clearly been through it, whatever “it” was. His right eye was a useless mass on his face, his coat was scraggly and unkempt, and this poor cat was very much in pain. Animal control brought him in and got him as comfortable as they could while they looked for a new home for Barry. He was going to need a lot of medical care, which meant finding a home for him was likely going to be hard.
Happening a little ways away, Amaya was also going through “it”. Her and her cat, Kilo, were incredibly lucky to survive a fire in their apartment complex — but not without a few scrapes and bruises themselves. Kilo’s tail had been injured in the fire, and needed amputation. Between housing struggles and searching for resources for her cat, Amaya found herself at New London Animal Control.
Barry was resting down the hall when Amaya began chatting with the animal control officers at the front desk.
And he began yowling — he knew that voice.
Amaya knew that yowl too, and when she saw who it was, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Barry wasn’t just another stray, he was Amaya’s cat! He had escaped his cat carrier on the way to the veterinarian a few months before the fire, and while Amaya hadn’t given up looking for him, there had been no trace of him for so long. Against so many odds, they had somehow found their way back to one another.
Finally all back together, things were beginning to look up. But Kilo’s tail still needed amputation, and Barry’s eye needed medical attention as well. With so much lost in the fire, Amaya had no idea how she was going to be able to pay for any of their medical care.
That’s where the Connecticut Humane Society was able to step in. When medical care is financially out of reach, CHS is here to help keep pets in homes with the families who love them. And with an extra boost thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, Barry was able to get the costly enucleation surgery to remove his eye, and Kilo’s tail was able to be amputated too. And the most important part of it all is that they get to stay with the family they know and love.
While Amaya and her pets are still recovering from the hardships that they’ve endured this year, the important thing is that they are together.
Pets are family. And thanks to compassionate community members like you, CHS can be there for people and pets in crisis, ensuring they never have to face life’s hardest moments alone.
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