It was the last few days of freedom
before his freshman year of high school began. It was one of those jungle-like
95 degree days and Chase Henderman was hanging out with his buddies in the
neighborhood. Then he spotted something white at the base of a telephone pole
near one of the busiest intersections in
the city. When he investigated further, he discovered it was a kitten and it
appeared to be dead. But Chase noticed the poor creature was still breathing
but it was very shallow. He called his mom, Lynn, a cat foster for Planned
Pethood, AS HE WAS RIDING HIS BIKE TRANSPORTING THE KITTEN IN HIS ARMS TO THE
VET!!!
In the meantime, Lynn called the vet
alerting them to the incoming kitten. Her best friend in rescue, Nancy,
happened to be there when they took the call. She heard, “kitten” “hit by a
car” and thought "I have to get the heck out of here", not knowing it was Chase
and Lynn rushing to save a life. Fate and the gods were on the side of little
Ringer that day. Chase named him from the dire circumstances under which the
little guy was discovered. Maybe somebody who works for a phone company should
adopt him as a mascot?
Well, you would think that was the
end of Ringer’s near death experiences and he lived happily ever after. Not
yet, he had only used up one of his nine lives. Ringer went into the Henderman
home as a foster and seemed happy and healthy and playful. But after a couple
of weeks, he became lethargic and refused to eat or drink. Lynn rushed him to
the emergency vet (on a holiday weekend of course). He was diagnosed with
hemobartonellosis, a virus spread by
infected fleas affecting the red blood cells. A normal count is 30 but Ringer’s
was at 8. Once again the little dude was on the brink of death and once again
his grit and zest for life pulled him through. Ringer is recuperating before he
goes back up for adoption and finds his forever family once and for all.
And Chase is not the only kid
involved in rescue. I am proud to say my own family includes an almost teenage
kitty savior. We figure it must be in the DNA (my sister in law volunteered at
the ASPCA in San Francisco and brought home the most unadoptable dog, Crystal,
who became their new baby’s nanny). My niece Samantha found a 4 week old kitten
abandoned in her neighborhood. When she took him home, my brother Jimmy, not
being a cat person, explained they would have to find a rescue organization to
take the tiny black ball of fur. Samantha was having none of it. The kid is a
miracle worker. Not only did they keep the kitty, she converted my brother into
a cat fan. They now have four cats, all rescued, and all spayed and neutered.
But what a cat Chance turned out to be! He was remarkable in many ways but my
favorite was that he used the toilet instead of a litter box. My sister in law
Pam awoke one night and heard someone using the bathroom. Jimmy and Sam were
sleeping so she got up to investigate and the tinkling in the toilet she heard
came from Chance! Samantha paid me the
highest of compliments when asked by her dad what she wanted to do when she
grew up. She said I want to rescue animals like Aunt Judy.
In a perfect world, there will be no
need for animal rescues like Planned Pethood
in future generations. But being realistic and perhaps a bit cynical, it
appears the need will persist for quite a long time to come. The good news is
we have reinforcements who are, even now, stepping up to do the right thing.
Having taught high school kids for 30 years, I recognize the importance animals
play in their lives. There have been students over the years who shut out any
adult, period. But they would magically open up if you began to engage them in
a conversation about their pets. Before you know it, I would have a half dozen
of the shyest kids in the class, gathered around my desk, all talking at once, all
sharing stories of their family pets. Every kid should have the opportunity to
enjoy the love and companionship of a dog or a cat. And, thumbs up to all of
our junior partners in rescue out there especially Chase and Samantha.
Want to Help? Send us an email at pets@plannedpethood.org. Long-term, short-term, whatever suits your calendar.
