We have a sad story to share😿

We have a sad story to share. Bernadette, the West Virginia kitty, was abandoned when her owners moved. A kind animal lover saw her outside in the cold; she was starving. He began feeding her to gain her trust and gave her a loving and safe home. 

Bernadette has been living the good life for a few months; however, despite having a warm bed at night and plenty of food, Bernadette lost more weight. Her breath smelled horrible, and her dad saw she was having trouble eating. He inspected her mouth and found that Bernadette had severe periodontal disease. 

Bernadette’s dad is low-income; he called a local vet to see how much it would cost for a dental cleaning for Bernadette. Unfortunately, the cost was far beyond his means, and he contacted us to see if we could help. Due to not knowing Bernadette’s medical history, we paid for an exam and pre-surgical bloodwork from our Emergency Fund to ensure she was healthy enough to be put under anesthesia. Sadly, a snap test that detects Feline Leukemia (FELV) & Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) showed Bernadette was FELV positive. 

Bernadette would not have made it through surgery, she had a severe infection, and her vital organs were failing. A decision was made by Bernadette's forever dad and veterinarian that the kindest thing to do was help Bernadette cross over the rainbow bridge peacefully.

Though this is not the expected outcome we had hoped for, Bernadette was loved and cared for during the last few months of her life. She did not suffer or die in the cold; her dad was there until the end. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Bernadette’s dad. RIP sweet Bernadette.

The Emergency Fund is critical to our mission; it funds urgent veterinary care when there is no time to fundraise. Please help another pet in need here: https://on.ftloa.org/emergency