THE STORY OF THOMAS THE THREE LEGGED KITTEN

 
Thomas didn’t start off life with three legs but someone mean and cruel did a horrible thing to him.  This very sick person tortured Thomas by tying off in two spots one of his back legs with either a rubber band or string.  Imagine the pain this poor baby endured as he slowly lost the feeling and use of his leg.  Thomas was only two months old and all he felt was pain…no love.  I can’t fathom how someone could do this to an innocent little kitten.
Thomas’ story doesn’t end here.  The evil person who tortured Thomas needed to get “rid” of the evidence of his/her cruelty.  So one day, he/she drove past the outside of the Banning Animal Shelter (which is surrounded by a six foot high fence) and threw Thomas out the window of a moving car and over the fence he went.
Luckily for Thomas a volunteer saw Thomas go flying over the fence and crashing to the ground.  The volunteer was so shook up by what she witnessed she never thought to get a description of the car.
She scooped Thomas up and took him to the shelter.  Thomas was screaming in pain and frightened to death.  I’m sure he wondered what happened to me.
Cat the Vet Tech came as soon as she heard of the horrible deed.  At first, she thought his leg was broken from the fall.  Cat gave Thomas pain medication immediately.  Once the meds started to work she put a splint on his leg, hoping some of the pressure would be relieved.  Thomas was still in great pain.  The shelter had a great dilemma on their hands: what to do about Thomas.  There were no funds available to take Thomas to the vet and get the care he so desperately needed.  Everyone there knew what had to be done but no one had the heart to “put him to sleep”.  Then a miracle of sorts happened.  Ellen of TLC Animal Rescue walked in the door.  She came by just to say:”Hi”.  Ellen wasn’t there to adopt any critters.  This was just a social visit (so she thought).
Before you could snap your fingers, there’s Ellen holding this bundle of red fur wrapped in a blanket.  At first, Ellen didn’t understand.  As she looked around the room and saw the worried and sad looks of the staff, she knew this wasn’t an ordinary bundle.
Linda the Operation’s Chief asked Ellen if she would take the little bundle.  Well, Ellen being Ellen thought she was going to have a new foster baby.  Then everyone started telling her of the story of the little kitty.  Ellen is a very easy going person but all of a sudden she could feel the anger in her body start at her feet and work its way to her mouth.  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  Ellen held her anger in and told Linda she was taking the little bundle right to the vets.
During the drive Thomas cried.  Normally, Ellen is a safe driver but she ran a red light to miss having to wait until the light changed.
She rushed Thomas into the vet hospital and said she had an emergency.  She needed Dr. Summers “NOW”! He rushed out and took Thomas into the surgery room since all the exam rooms were occupied.  He gingerly took off the splint and gently examined Thomas’ leg.  Even though Thomas was in extreme pain, he still purred when you touched him.  Dr. Summers looked perplexed.  He said that the leg wasn’t broken. He wasn’t sure what was wrong.  He decided to shave Thomas’ leg so he could examine it closely.  As he cut the fur away there appeared two strange looking circles of different parts of Thomas’ leg.  Dr. Summers face turned red with anger when he realized what the two circles were.  Like the rest of us, he couldn’t believe that some one could be so evil and mean to an innocent little kitten.
After examining the leg , he said he felt that the leg was dead because of lack of circulation.  We all knew what that meant.  It was time for Thomas to go to heaven.  Ellen asked if there was anything that could be done to save Thomas’ life.  Dr. Summers said :”Yes” but it meant amputating Thomas’ leg and it would be very expensive.  Ellen didn’t care if it cost hundreds of dollars.  If the rescue couldn’t afford it she would beg for the money if she needed.  No way was such a young life going to be lost because of the actions of person with such a sadistic mind.  Thomas had the right to have a life filled with happiness and TLC was going to” break the bank if necessary” to see that that would happen.
The next day Thomas had his surgery which was performed by Dr .Kyle Dunn and supervised by Dr. Summers.  Thankfully everything went well.  Dr. Dunn did an excellent job on the amputation.
Later in the day, Ellen stopped by to check of Thomas.  Even though he was groggy, he managed to crawl to the front of his cage and purr his little heart out.  Thomas was telling us he was going to be alright, thanks to the wonderful care of Drs. Summers and Dunn and the other surgery staff.
After a few days of recuperating Thomas went to his new forever home.  He lives happily with Ellen and many of the other critters of TLC.
Some of you think we should have “put Thomas down” but TLC believes in life.  Even though Thomas has only three legs, he’s loved, happy and healthy…how can you put a price on that?  I know I can’t.  If I had to do it all over again, I still choose his life over the cost of the surgery.  I always tell every one:”I’m not a bookkeeper or CPA, I rescue animals”!  The joy that has come into my life because of helping these innocent creatures has made me a better more compassionate person.  You can’t put a dollar sign on that kind of wonderful feeling!