A Guelph Domino’s Pizza driver says he was not prepared for the response he received when his story about rescuing a cat that had been hit by a car went viral on social media.
Tom Bott, a driver for Domino’s Pizza, pulled his car over Sunday night when he saw a woman attending to a cat in distress on College Avenue after making a delivery.
“I put my four-ways on, got out. At that point she lifted up the cat and we realized it had been hit and was bleeding,” said Bott.
The cat appeared to be in shock, said Bott.
“He hadn’t gone into panic mode or anything yet. He didn’t claw me,” he said.
Bott said the woman did not have access to a vehicle and could not get the cat to emergency care.
When he offered to drive the cat to a clinic, the woman made him promise to actually do it and not drop the cat at the side of the road, said Bott.
“(I said) M’am, I have four cats at home. I’m not dropping this kitty off — we’re going to the vet.”
Lisa Veit, associate director of Guelph Human Society, said the cat is recovering after life-saving surgery.
“The vet actually thinks that the car went fully over him, so he had some serious injuries to his internal organs, to his lungs and a leg injury as well. He required surgery and is recovering,” said Veit.
The cat, who the Humane Society has named Domino, is currently recovering in an oxygen tent before eventually being released to a foster home later this week.
“We are optimistic that he is likely going to be discharged from the veterinary clinic within the next day or two, if everything continues to go in the right direction,” said Veit.
Domino’s emergency medical care, so far estimated to be over $2,500, is being covered by the Guelph Humane Society’s special Duke’s Fund — named after a dog that had severe respitory issues that required expensive surgery.
“The fund was developed over 20 years ago and it continues to be a fund today that donors can direct their donations to and we use it to fund extensive and expensive medical treatments under our care,” said Veit.
The attention this case has received is a good opportunity for Guelph Humane Society to remind people of Duke’s Fund and its ongoing need to top it up.
“We have lots of animals under our care that have serious medical issues — as a chariitble organization, we rely on the community’s support to help us provide that care to them,” said Veit.
Bott’s quick thinking made a big difference in this case, said Veit.
“He pulled over to check on him and realized he was in need of help and took him to a veterinary clinic to get some help and really saved his life,” said Veit.
After dropping the cat off, Bott made a post to the Overheard at Guelph group on Facebook in an effort to alert the owner of the cat and to raise questions about the driver that hit him.
“I understand you can’t stop for everything all of the time, but I was pretty disappointed that somebody hit a cat and just drove away,” said Bott.
He said the students of the University of Gueph impressed him with their response to the story.
“They were all concerned about the cat and how they could donate. People have been telling the Humane Society they want to adopt,” said Bott.
Veit said the owner of the cat came forward and relinquished care to the Humane Society.
“There are times (owners) make the decision to surrender the animal because they can’t continue care. We are happy to intervene in those cases and help the animal to get the care that they need,” she said.
As his inbox for direct messages began to fill up, Bott was alerted to a posting on the Reddit message boards about the story.
“I signed up for Reddit and was like, ‘oh my gosh, there’s 25,000 views on this thing,’” said Bott.
He spent some time dispelling theories strangers on the message board were making about the story.
“The pizza has been delivered, the (Domino’s) owner wasn’t mad, the bag has been cleaned, everything is kosher,” said Bott.
He said his kids were especially delighted that the Humane Society named the cat Domino as a result of the delivery driver who saved his life.
Bott said he went to the Guelph Humane Society to make a donation to Duke’s Fund in Domino’s name and many who have reached out to him on social media have said they will do the same.
“I am just touched with how everyone has responded, in terms of wanting to help, those that have helped. Everyone has been super good,” said Bott.
