I'm proud to say this woman, Becky Lent, lives near me. The last time I talked to her, she told me she had something like 40 cats and 10 dogs, most living indoors but not in her house. She has a separate building where she houses them. I will visit where she works tomorrow to donate to Footloose's vet care. I'm retyping most of this article because it's too large a file to post:
"One of my cats stays outside, so I have a heated box on the porch. That night he was inside because it was too cold even for him." The next morning, Footloose, a white male cat, was in the heated box. She named him Footloose because one front foot flopped at the end of his leg. Badly wounded, Footloose had dragged himself onto her porch. With frostbite on both front feet, a respiratory infection and abscessed bites on his legs, he was in desperate need of help.
Becky Lent took him to local vet Dr. Melanie Butera (partner of my vet, Dr. LeBeau) of Elmridge Animal Hospital, who treated his wounds. "When Becky brought him in", remembered Butera, "the bites were badly infected. He's quite a fighter and he's done really well."
Lent remembers nursing him back to health. "He was so good; he just laid there while I put warm compresses on his legs 3 times a day." She was asked why she didn't just put him out of his misery. "It took a lot of effort to drag himself up onto my porch" said Lent. "I figure if he had that much will to live, he deserved a chance."
After the abscesses healed, there was still an open wound. X-rays revealed both front legs had been shot at point blank range. "His one leg was just shattered" Lent said. She would later learn that the same thing had happened to a neighbor's dog. "There are bullet fragments in one leg and a different shot pattern on each" Butera revealed. "This indicates that it was not one shot that hit both legs, but two deliberate shots: one to each leg. It went all the way through one wrist, leaving it completely disjointed from its leg."
Butera referred Footloose to Dr. Terry Owen of Viking Community Animal Hospital for surgery. She remembered having seen a dog with all four legs shot in the same manner. Owen had done that repair work. The original estimate for the surgery was between $1000 and $2000. "The vet said he could help if I could get donations" said Lent. Donations in the amount of $850 flooded in. The final $150 pledge has not yet arrived but Lent has faith it's on the way.
Footloose visited where Lent works at Fulton Hardware on Saturday, March 24, sporting bright yellow casts on both front legs. He loves to be scratched. With both paws in casts, he can't scratch himself, so he's excited when someone lends a hand. Emerging from his ordeal normal except for one paw that no longer bends at the wrist, Footloose will be fully healed and available for adoption in about 8 weeks. "There was one really sweet thing that happened" said Butera. "A complete stranger came in and gave $20 to them, just from hearing about what happened. Becky helps animals all the time and it always comes out of her own pocket." "It's been very sweet how people have responded to them both. The community really stepped up the the plate."
To make a donation for Footloose, call (330) 882-5093.
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