Even though we are hoping winter will soon be a distant memory, we still want to celebrate Winter, one of our cats at Home For Life Animal Sanctuary. You will not believe the before and after photos of her!
It was September 20th,2024, just before the official end of summer, that rescue partners of Minneapolis Animal Control received the following email:
"SOS URGENT CAT AT Minneapolis Animal Control:
Last night one of our officers was flagged down by a resident who had found a cat that appeared underweight and had several patches of red/irritated skin and appeared sick. We have named him “Brooklyn” and he is an approximately 3-year-old intact male DMH. Our vet team assessed him today and found he has a heavy flea infestation. We ran bloodwork and he is severely anemic with a hematocrit of 18. We are monitoring him here but if he were to crash we will have to proceed with humane euthanasia. We are reaching out to see if any of our rescues would be able to take him on a foster basis and provide him additional medical care should he need it."
One of our staff rushed in to pick up the cat, who turned out to be a SHE, not him.
First stop was the examination by our on-site vet, who determined her correct sex; however, the evaluation of her anemia was accurate: she was indeed at a level of anemia that was life threatening, and so emaciated, so very fragile and pale, she looked transparent. We named her Winter, in memory of a very dear deaf and albino Australian Shepherd dog of the same name who lived at Home for Life many years ago.
We were so concerned about the immediate need to save her life, but one of our staff members was on the ball enough to snap several photos of her shortly after she came to Home for Life. For months she received close monitoring by the veterinarian, special supplements and foods. One day we looked up and had a regal beauty on our hands! Winter has plenty of attitude and sass and wears a pink spike collar to announce her femininity combined with a feisty personality.
And now we celebrate these photos of Winter, as you'll find her today at Home for Life:- what a dramatic turnaround! Sometimes, with the busy activity of every day, taking care of the animals, we just don't take the time to appreciate our animals' healing and progress, how far many of our cats and dogs have come. These photos of Winter reveal the miracles that can happen for a cat or dog who finds loving care, a place to belong, a home for life at our sanctuary. Winter is a testimony to our belief that every animal counts. That belief is transformational, a premise that creates the miracles you see in these photos. Winter is Home for Life!