In late August/early September THE SANCTUARY ANGELS did something they had never done before. We awarded four Angel grants, totalling £1,200, to Shiloh's Sanctuary, a small cat rescue charity run by a lady called Anne Marie. I am going to let Anne Marie explain in her own words why The Sanctuary Angels decided unanimously to throw everything at this mission to save one life, that of Lucky cat (pictured).
Anne Marie: "Thank you all so very, very much!!! I took Lucky to the hospital at 10:30 a.m and talked to his dentist, who asked about Lucky's overall behaviur and condition at the sanctuary. I said he was eating and drinking ok thanks to the meds he was on. The only thing I noticed was his occasional rapid breathing. This tends to happen before he has his meds. I reminded the dentist that these episodes have been going on for 10 years. I also reminded him that two traumatic events had happened to this poor baby before we got him. He was rescued from a garbage dump as a kitten. Someone had thrown him into a bag, tied the bag and thrown the bag into the dump. Someone else saw the bag moving and ran over to thr dump and rescued Lucky!! A few years later, Lucky was taken to a woman's house to stay while his owner was out of the country on vacation. But she was not a cat lover. Lucky panicked and jumped out of her window in the dead of winter when she invited a whole bunch of people over. It was freezing cold and it was January. The woman refused to look for Lucky and suggested that the owner buy a new cat. I was contacted and asked to help find Lucky. I went and searched high and low for him. I put up posters everywhere in English and Korean and visited all of the vet clinics in that area and gave them each a poster. I also set two traps. Lucky was caught in one of the traps almost a week later. More to the story, but I was later given Lucky and have loved him dearly ever since. I now no longer have a car and as a result of an accident am disabled in a wheelchair. A lot has changed in my life, personally and professionally, But I remain committed to taking care of Lucky and our other senior and special-needs cats. I feel useless at times because I am limited in how much I can help our animals as well as other animals here in Korea. However, I am extremely fortunate to have many amazing helpers, including our incredible admin team, which includes my dear friend Reine Semaan. I am also extremely grateful to all of our young volunteers who help us out at the sanctuary. And I am beyond overjoyed, grateful to Amanda George and her amazing organization and followers and friends, who largely made Lucky's and my dream come true so that he can FINALLY be pain-free and live a life he so very much deserves. I am also grateful to our Shiloh's Sanctuary followers who have also helped to make this surgery possible. Thank you so very much, everyone!!"
We are delighted to report is doing really well post-surgery and is eating, breathing more easily and looking much more relaxed and in less pain already. You can find out more about Lucky and his fur-siblings at @shilohssanctuary on Facebook.