Compassion is Always the Answer.
"You're saving my life"—words we might expect to hear from a cat or dog if they could speak. But these words came from a local retired man, spoken from the corner of a dark, musty room heavy with the smell of pet urine and waste. Where one might expect to see a dining table and chairs, the dim space was instead packed wall-to-wall with approximately 20 stacked cages full of crying cats and barking dogs.
The gentleman's wife suffers from advanced dementia, and he struggles with health issues of his own. What began with good intentions—as many animal hoarding cases do—had gotten badly out of control. Fortunately, this weary man recognized how bad things had gotten and reached out for help. It could not have been easy to allow us into their private home, but the man wanted what was best for the animals as much as he desperately needed relief for himself.
The effects of dementia led to a dangerous environment for both the couple and the pets who called this space home.
Up to three cats live in each cage that fills this would-be dining room. Neighbors and passersby would never guess what was going on inside this Johnston County home.
As we surveyed the cramped home, we took mental notes: this one has an infection; that one has a broken leg; that one hasn't left his cage in three years. SPCA Wake staff veterinarian Dr. Zurlinden and our intake team loaded pet after pet into the SPCA transport van as the husband told us their names and stories.
On the first day, fourteen of these animals were voluntarily signed over to the SPCA, and because of your incredible support, we were able to quickly return to the house to help law enforcement remove the remaining pets. Every one of the dogs returned with us to the SPCA, each in need of help and rehabilitation.
These pets aren′t used to the outside world, so the intake team moves gently and slowly to make sure each pet is comfortable as they are prepared for transport.
11-year-old Betty has trust in her eyes on the van ride back to SPCA Wake.
From Cages to Wide Open Spaces
One of those dogs was Braham: a 9-year-old dog who, for the past three years, has spent every hour of every day living inside a four-foot crate. Chronic skin infections and mange had robbed him of most of his fur and all of his comfort. When we opened Braham's cage door and brought him outside into the sun, he walked up to the particular SPCA team member who'd freed him from his cage and kissed her square on the nose.
Next to Braham was another dog named Francesca, who'd lived permanently confined to the neighboring crate. In her first moment of freedom, Francesca bounded out of the room, wasting no time to run circles around her rescuers, pausing only to relish a few moments of affection before taking off again.
When we first met Braham, he′d been living in the confines of a crate for several years.
SPCA Animal Behaviorist Molly Stone-Sapir evaluates Braham during his first time outdoors in years.
The day Braham arrived at the SPCA was a turning point that changed the rest of his life.
A group of little dogs, like Edna, had free reign of the home—what little that was in the cramped house. They, too, had all suffered the consequences of years without grooming or medical care.
According to the husband, another dog named Felix had broken his leg over a year ago. Felix held his front leg off the ground with every step, and his paw seemed to be internally disconnected from the rest of his leg. The skin all over his body was red and hairless, and what fur he did have was caked into thick mats. Felix was at the top of our triage list.
Despite everything they'd been through, the dogs let us scoop them into our arms, and they wagged their little tails and sought comfort in each other's cuddles on their journey back to the SPCA.
When Felix arrived at SPCA Wake, a closer exam revealed the severe extent of his overgrown nails, matted fur, and inflamed skin. But after careful grooming and a long-overdue leg amputation, Felix was finally relieved of his chronic pain. He was running around on three legs in no time!
Another time-sensitive case was Earl the cat. He appeared sick with a chronic upper respiratory infection, and several of his teeth had rotted away to an unhealthy brown color. At first glance, we worried his enormous cheeks might be a sign of a painful tooth abscess or other oral infection.
As soon as our transport van returned to the SPCA, Earl, Felix, and the rest of their convoy were assessed by Dr. Zurlinden and our medical team. Felix would need an amputation — the damage to his leg was too old and too severe for any hope of saving his limb. Earl would need a strong course of antibiotics for his infections and several dental extractions to remove his painful teeth. After a closer assessment, we were surprised to find that his enormous cheeks were not a medical symptom, but one of the most extreme cases of testosterone-related male cat features we'd ever seen (a result of having never been neutered).
After years of living inside a crate, Francesca′s first time out in the yard was a special moment—and the joy was written all over her face.
After years of living in a cage, Monterey couldn′t contain his excitement to have so much space to run and play!
Edna was one of a few small dogs who roamed freely around what little space in the house wasn′t piled with mountains of furniture and discarded belongings.
Earl quickly made an impression our team thanks to his larger-than-life cheeks, and despite his prior circumstances, his lively personality! After living inside a small cage for months or years, Earl was head over heels for all the little comforts of his SPCA foster home.
A New Beginning
Because of you, these pets have found safety, relief, and freedom they hadn't experienced in years.
Over the following weeks, Braham's bright red skin healed remarkably, and Francesca racked up her odometer running circles in the yard. Meanwhile, their feline friends thoroughly enjoyed having free reign of the spacious SPCA cat rooms, and frightened little Edna was doted upon by staff and volunteers.
Thanks to your compassion and support, every one of these pets received the care they needed and went on to be adopted y a loving families. These pets don't have words to express their gratitude for the way you changed their lives, but we do. Thank you for sharing your kindness and giving all of these pets their life back. The difference between where they came from and where they are now is night and day, and you are the lifeline that made their journeys possible. You save lives every day, sometimes in more ways than you know.
Weeks of medicated baths and foster care did wonders for Braham′s spirit!