Joey's friends to the rescue! (Updated 10/27)

Joey may have had a rough start in life, but thanks to friends like you his luck has made a dramatic reversal for the better in the past few weeks.

On September 24th, Joey had surgery to remove his crippled leg at the VREC in Norwalk. Just as his doctors anticipated, Joey made a rapid recovery and learned almost immediately to adapt to life on three legs. Despite being under doctor's orders to take it easy, Joey was playing happily within days of surgery. He was eating, alert and basking in all the attention he was getting.

When we went for our follow up exam/suture removal on 10/4, Joey's doctors told us that his incision was healing nicely and that he was well enough for adoption.

And it just so happened that Joey had someone very special in Tierra Verde, FL waiting to welcome him into her life.

Karyn Lehmann had learned about Joey from her sister in Newtown, Krista Rekos, who had previously adopted from The Animal Center and who volunteers with us. Says Karyn, "When I read about Joey, his story broke my heart and I knew that this kitten belonged here with me and my other cat, Mozart."

So on 10/6, Joey was on a Jet Blue flight out of White Plains, NY to FL, escorted in the cabin by Krista and her husband Rich. "Joey was such a good traveler. I'm so proud of him. He slept most of the way and didn't cry at all," says Krista.

We’ve spoken with Karyn several times since she's had Joey and he is doing great in his new home. "Joey is amazing. He's so gentle and loving--and he's also curious about everything and loves to play. I thought the stairs might be hard for him to navigate but he flies up and down them without any problems. And he and my other cat, Mozart, are already becoming fast friends. We feel lucky to have this special little kitten in our lives."

Special thanks to all of you who reached out to help Joey. Today, Joey can run, walk, and play without pain and he knows the love of a forever home. Your support helped make this possible. Thank you, as always, for caring so much about the animals!

Kim & Monica
Founders, The Animal Center

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Udpated Joey Pics (12/2007)

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Joey's story (Original story, published 9/2007)

Joey is an adorable, loving and very affectionate 12 week old kitten who needs surgery to remove his front left leg, which is not only causing him considerable pain, but is also getting in the way of his mobility.

Joey wants to be able to run and play like other kittens and be pain-free. We want to give him this life and we know you do, too.We brought Joey to an orthopedic specialist who after examining him explained that his left front leg had extensive nerve damage and unfortunately can never be rehabilitated. Removing his leg would give him the best chance at living a full life where he can run, walk, and play without pain or discomfort, as cats recover rapidly and quickly learn how to adapt to life on three legs.

Joey's prognosis is good. From unfortunate experience, we know that Joey heals well from surgery--this will be Joey's second operation in the short time he's been with us.

Surgery #1, Sept. 5, 2007:Remove vinyl glove lodged in stomach. When our volunteers rescued Joey, he had been dodging traffic in the Germantown section of Danbury. Looking at his injured leg, we thought that he may have been hit by a car. But x-rays showed no broken bones or fractures. Joey did not have any cuts or open wounds nor did he present any signs of distress other than hunger.

What Joey's doctor did find on the x-rays, however, was a large mass in his stomach that definitely should not have been there. Surgery was performed to find out what was lodged in his belly and we discovered that Joey had ingested a large vinyl glove, like those used by kitchen staff in fast-food restaurants. As best as we can determine, there had been food on the discarded glove, and Joey, as hungry as he was, swallowed everything he could.

It's been over a week since Joey's first surgery and he's doing great, eating like a champ and loving all the attention he's been getting. What is so remarkable about Joey isn't just that the glove did not kill him, or that he managed to survive traffic with a lame leg that makes every step a struggle—it's that despite the bad breaks this kitten has had in the brief time he's been on this earth, he doesn't let it get him down. Joey is one of the happiest, most loving and affectionate cats you'll ever meet. Like so many animals who are abandoned and rescued, Joey has demonstrated a strong will to live and trusting, positive spirit from the very first day we met him.

Below: Joey and the vinyl
glove that had been stuck in his belly.

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