There’s a special breed of rescuer out there—caring but disciplined, responsive but practical, kind but judicious with time and resources. We’re caring, responsive and kind or so we’d like to think, but when we’re tagged in a post about an injured cat, we’re as disciplined as Jackpot with an unattended bowl of Friskies pate or Mama Su with a pint of Haagan-Dazs, which is to say not at all. One minute I was on my way to Woodward Park to run the turkey and giblets off my furry sidekick…the next minute I’m on the floor of a garage inspecting a scuffed up calico. “Keep driving,” I told myself when the little red notification popped up, but I’m a dopamine junky, and OMG, that face!
After convincing the finder that I wasn’t a serial killer—apparently, no one but Night Stalker types offer to sprint over within minutes of the original post—I headed into her garage for a look. The post said the little furball had an eye injury and mouth wound, perhaps from a scuffle with a dog, but was very friendly. Upon closer inspection, her eye seemed swollen but otherwise fine, her jaw looked ugly—broken and maybe infected—and she was indeed a friendly little waif. After a quick phone call, we arranged an assessment from our go to vet who opined: female, 2-3 years old, good heart, good lungs, eyes ok, a little curb rash in spots and a crooked jaw, most likely from a tumble with car. He offered to keep her overnight, take some X-rays in the morning and figure out the next course of action. Perfect.
To be honest, we’re in no position to be speculating in fixer-uppers but we do love a turnaround. This grungy little urchin’s going to need corrective surgery, grooming and recovery time, but she has the potential to be a perfect lap warmer. If you have room in your budget to help with her surgery or rehab, we promise to be more disciplined with your donations than we are with our own time and resources and will certainly post updates on her progress. As for her name, the finder had figurine of Harley Quinn of the Suicide Squad by the door and the name seemed to work. Meet Harley.