Saturday, July 27, 2013

Leo's 3 legged rescue story

 
Meet Leo
I was not planning on getting another kitten so soon, but Leo was just meant to be.
 
Here is our story...
 
My Mother & Brother found Leo while I was at work in a bush in my grandparents back yard. My Mom said she could hear Leo screaming right when she pulled up in their driveway, and he was way in the backyard against the back fence. What made me so mad was a lady living in the apartments behind my Grandparents house told my Mother that Leo had been screaming for 3 days! What the heck!! Why did no one help him? My Grandparents are hard of hearing and had no idea he was back there. Leo was stuck tightly by one of his front legs. My Brother Wyatt crawled into the bush to free him. Leo was very friendly and happy to see them, nothing like a typical wild kitten. We wonder if he was socialized with humans before, he sure seems like he was. But we really have no idea where he came from, he is about 6 weeks old.
My Mothers original thought was to get Leo out of the bush, and then take him to our local animal shelter, where we thought he would be quickly adopted because he is so cute. But Leo had been stuck in the bush so long his paw and leg were swollen up huge!!
 
 
Several hours had passed. I had come to see him right after work and the swelling was not going down. It was Sunday evening so  my local vet was closed. We did some research and found out our local "No Kill" animal shelter is only no kill for healthy animals, and sometimes they put down unhealthy animals ( Which makes me sad, but I do understand why they have to do that). No way could I let him go to the shelter  and likely be put to sleep, with any possibility that he could live. I decided I wanted to pay for Leo to see the vet in the morning before we made any decisions. I was quickly falling in love with him.
 
The vet said that they believed the tissue and everything else in his leg was dead. They checked for any broken bones it was not broken. The vet wanted to give it a couple days too see if anything changed and put him on antibiotics, in hopes he would get feeling back in his leg. At this point I had already made up my mind the night before to keep Leo, so I also had him tested for all the common cat diseases and everything came back negative.
 
Leo was apart of the family right away
 
 
Leo had no feeling in his leg and paw at all. You could poke it and he would not feel it. He dragged his leg around tripping over it, and acting as if it an annoying weight he had to carry around.
 
 
 
I took Leo back to the vet on Wednesday as they had said on Monday to do. The vet gave us the news that  we already knew was coming that Leo was going to need his leg amputated. The vet said she was very confident he would do great with just 3 legs. I scheduled his amputation for the following morning.
 
Leo on the way to the vet the day of his surgery.
 
The vet was very kind to give me a very good price on Leo's surgery. She also neutered him for no charge at all, she said she thought it was best to have it all done at once, so he would not have to go under anesthesia again later on. Leo's surgery went great, thank goodness I was so nervous I was already so attached to him. Leo is currently on antibiotics and pain meds I am giving to him. It worked out so perfect because I had a scheduled paid vacation from work for 2 weeks starting on Wednesday, with not much planned to do. So now I can stay home with Leo while he recovers, it feels like it was meant to be.
 
I had to fix my fridge magnet since I now have a fur kid with only 3 paws
 
 

Leo is already doing so good! As you can see in the video.
I have been trying to keep him resting, but he just cries because he wants to walk around the house and check everything out.
I love how in the end of the video Bentley and Leo share a little kiss, it is so precious.
 
I already love Leo so much.
 
Thanks for visiting
 


37 comments:

  1. God BLESS YOU ...your beautiful family and your wonderful vet...I am sitting here in tears of joy...I pray to God every day that there are more and more people like you that care...deeply care for these precious animals...they are so helpless and all they want is to love and be loved. THANK YOU...from everyone in my family...thank you for saving little Leo and giving him the life that he deserves...I can't wait to see how he develops and grows...I can't stop crying...you are a sweetie...may your blessing be plentiful...you are just a pure and utter treasure!!!! Sending you and yours hugs and a BIG HUG to all the furbabies...especially little Leo...but he looks like he is doing wonderfully and fits into your family like a glove!

    HUGS!!!!!!!

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  2. I am so glad you rescued him Janae. He is so sweet. You are right--everything worked out just like this was all meant to me--from Wyatt and I going to G-ma and G-pa's that day--to the vet giving you the reduced costs-- to you being on vacation. I pray he has many many happy years with you! He is physically a cute kitten, but his sweet personality makes him even cuter!

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  3. I second everything written above. You did a beautiful job of telling the story about little Leo. Your video showed that he will have no problem walking with 3 legs, and your other babies already love him. Many thanks to you and our vet for saving Leo. You are a sweetheart!!

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  4. Thank you for choosing to step up and protect and care for this precious life. I pray that God will bless your efforts, (I see His blessings in your life already...family, fur babies, a lovely home...) and will give you health, provision and peace in your life. Leo reminds me of my beloved Hobbs, who we rescued as a tiny kitten and nursed back to health. He was such a joy and our other cat and he were inseparable. Sadly the neglect he suffered before we found him left him with neurological issues that caused seizures...He died after a seizure before he was a year old. We miss him terribly. I know it is impossible to save all the neglected animals in the world, but I am very glad that when God put you in place to save Leo, that you did all you could do for him. You are a blessing.

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  5. Leo was so blessed to have found you, Janae! I can't help thinking about that lady who heard him screaming and never bothered to investigate. If only she had, Leo would not be without a leg today. It's true that he probably would not have found you either. I'm just sad. It's a bitter sweet ending.

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  6. Sei una santa ragazza!E' stato un angelo a farti trovare Leo!Povero piccolo,ha bisogno di tanto amore!Ciao,io seguo sempre il tuo blog dall'Italia e ammiro tutto quello che fai per i tuoi pelosi!Rosetta

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  7. Sweet blessings for you and Leo! You make the world a better place for animals with your kind heart for them.

    Angela

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  8. He was surely meant to be found by you...and what better person could have given him a home and so much love! He is truly blessed to be an addition to your wonderful family of fur babies. Janae, I may not know you personally, but I know without a doubt that you are one of the sweetest people I could ever!

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  9. What a bitter sweet story, bless your heart for doing this, it just breaks my heart that this kitty was stuck for 3 days!

    Carol

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  10. What an amazing story. You did an awesome thing by keeping little Leo. For sure this little guy would have been put down knowing he would have only 3 legs. You and your family are heros. And to see Leo taking to the dogs so fast says he was meant to be in your family. God bless you for your kind heart.

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  11. I've read some books about when our furbabies leave us, sometimes they come back, as another cat or even a dog, but they come back... I hope you don't get offended when I say that Louie came back. He was ready to come back. So glad to see you rescued, sometimes the things that aren't planned are the best things of all. Beautiful family, love your blog!

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  12. Awww what a heart touching story. Maybe I was meant to see this as I was walking my little dog Poppy the other day and I came across a man with his three legged dog who was running just as fast as my little dog and his dog had lost a front leg too just like your little kitty, in fact the same leg. I asked him about it and he said it was cancer and it was removed to stop the spread of it. The dog was perfectly balanced standing their on three legs it was amazing.

    Also, a friend of mine years ago lost her cat, it was missing for nearly 6 months, then one morning her mother heard a cat scratching and mieowing at the door, she opened the door to see their missing cat with a very badly damaged leg. They took him to the vet and he had to amputate the leg. Her cat recovered really quickly and was soon hopping around and even jumping on and off tables.

    I am sure little Leo will recover very quickly and you will be amazed how he will adapt to having only three legs.

    Thank you for sharing your story :)

    Lee

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  13. What a beautiful story of Leo's rescue. You have a very special heart, Janae. Your other furkids follow your example by welcoming others into their family as happily as you do.

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  14. What a wonderful, compassionate act on your part, Janae. I'm so proud of you! I know you'll love Leo as another member of the family!

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  15. You truly are one of God's angels here on earth. What an amazing and generous thing to do!!!! Your fur babies are so very lucky to have you as their momma. This post has made my day - I needed some uplifting. Thank you so very much for sharing this.

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  16. How wonderful, he was meant to be with you! Hope you have many years of happiness with this little guy. And how DO you keep your house so foofy and clean?! LOL!!

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  17. Good luck little Leo. You will do fine a a tri-paw. My Felix is a tri-paw as well. He had his surgery last November after being found as a stray on a busy highway. Felix was about Leo's age when he had his surgery too. Im not sure he even knows he's missing a leg. He runs and plays just like our other cats. Good luck with your little man.

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  18. Leo teve muita sorte em ser encontrado por você. Espero que ele tenha uma boa recuperação, tenho certeza que vocês vão dar muita felicidade um ao outro.
    Pretinha e amigos

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  19. I am reading your blog with tears rolling down my cheeks! The blessing of Saint Francis to you and your family! May I share your story, and the adorable picture of kitty and pekes? Inspiring!

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  20. That is the saddest, sweetest, most heart warming story, ever.
    Leo is adorable, and you, are an angel of the highest.
    God bless you!
    Hugs to you and Leo.
    Patti

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  21. You are so special. Thank God for you. I shutter to think what would have happened without you. You have a wonderful furry family. Please keep us posted. Many blessing to you and yours....
    Lisa Rose

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  22. You are so special. Thank God for you. I shutter to think what would have happened without you. You have a wonderful furry family. Please keep us posted. Many blessing to you and yours....
    Lisa Rose

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  23. I know I'm basically repeating what everyone else is saying but it's worth saying again! This is such a great story and Leo is absolutely adorable. The positive outcome helps you not think about the fact that no one helped him before you. The end of the video is really sweet!

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  24. I can't even express how wonderful this is for Leo to have found you!! I can't wait to follow his little life, he is going to be a happy little guy, and a superstar!

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  25. What a wonderful story! You are so lucky to have found each other:)

    Purrs xx

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  26. That's a beautiful story. I'm so happy you found Leo. My eldest cat had a broken back, left leg when I rescued her. It was amputated a year after I adopted her, and she's seven now and does just fine. Please kiss Leo for me.

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  27. Leo is so fortunate to have you in his life. This is such a tragic story but with a wonderfully happy ending. You definitely belong together. Purrs and hugs from the kitties at www.thecatonmyhead.com, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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  28. Hi Leo! *waves paws wildly* We're SOOO happy you found your forever mama! Ours loves differently-abled cats like you. Our brother is deaf - and every morning our mommy kisses his ears and whispers to him how very special he is and that she loves him. Differently-abled kitties ROCK!
    ~ Faraday, Maxwell (deaf) and Allie

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  29. Leo is precious and so lucky to have found you!

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  30. OMGosh!! I'm in tears! As a huge cat lover, I am so touched that you took the time to rescue, care for, and love this little sweetie!! God bless you and Leo!!
    (I'm visiting from your mom's blog, btw :)

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  31. Mom's in tears now I had to take over. You are what mom calls an angel and leo is a lucky kitty with much love Frankie and My mom lorraine at http://lorrainesresources.blogspot.com

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  32. Awwwwwwwww... what a great story. Your heart is as big as the moon, lucky for Leo that he found you...

    Cindy

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  33. Your story is so moving, I am nearly in tears! I'm so glad everything worked out for little baby Leo. He was so luck to have found you!

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