A local animal rescue group is looking for help to cover a hefty veterinarian bill after two of its cats ended up in the hands of a known animal abuser.
The incident is currently under investigation, and 4Champ Animal Rescue is reluctant to identify the person, as they don't want to affect the outcome. Someone had applied to foster the cats, and after that, they applied to adopt the cats, said Carly Belanger, a spokesperson for the group.
“This person was an approved foster who passed all of the checks and balances, and we allowed her to have two cats — siblings Storm and Princess,” said Belanger. “She then decided she wanted to adopt them.”
4Champ Animal Rescue kept in contact with the adopters, but things started to get a bit strange after that, Belanger said.
“She kept giving us excuses as to why we couldn't get pictures of the cats, but we didn't really think much of it at the time. There weren't any real red flags.”
When it came time to have the cats spayed, though, the adopter kept putting it off.
“The night before we were to pick up the cats, she confessed to one of our volunteers that she lied, and had actually applied on behalf of her cousin, who was now in possession of the cats,” Belanger said.
“When we found out who it was that had the cats, we leapt into action. Our volunteers went to his home, we spoke with him and pleaded with him, and the only way he would let us take the cats was if we promised to bring them back after they were spayed.”
Clearly, that was not their intent, but the volunteer-based organization said what they had to in order to get the cats out of that situation.
Then things got worse.
“I was told over the phone Storm was walking funny,” Belanger said. “I thought it might have been a small limp, but then we realized Storm couldn't even stand on her own, and she needed emergency veterinarian care.”
The veterinarian's report confirmed that. Under “ambulatory” in the report, it is noted Storm was unable to balance, tends to “tip and flop” unless otherwise supported. The report also detailed a severely wounded digit on Storm's hind leg (the nail eventually fell off) and a “sudden ventral deviation” in the tail (likely fractured). There was a suspected burn on Storm's nose and ears and swelling in her face.
“Given variable ages of injuries, abuse is a high risk of causes,” stated the report.
Although unconfirmed, the report also states cats inability to stand properly was consistent with the animal have been given heroin.
After seeing the report, 4Champ volunteers reported the incident to the city's abuse hotline. It is now being investigated by the Sudbury unit of the Northern Animal Welfare Unit.
Storm's health has improved considerably since then, Belanger said. She's living with a foster family, which will be adopting the feline.
However, even now, she tries to walk and still falls over.
Storm's vet bill alone was $3,000 due to the radiologist reports, Belanger said.
“We knew there would be an investigation, so we wanted them to have all of the information.”
4Champ Animal Rescue is asking for help from the community to pay down that bill.
4Champ Animal Rescue has been around since 2015 and is a volunteer-driven organization with all funds raised going toward the care of animals in foster care. Currently, there are about 40 cats and 15 dogs in their care.
For more information, visit www.4champanimalrescue.com.
