Hershel

 

Hershel was found horribly injured on Dec. 13, 2014, in Ogilvie, MN. He’d obviously been hit by a car and his back right leg and tail were shattered and decaying.  His ears had previously been frostbitten, probably last winter when he was still a very small kitten.

The wonderful family (Shane, Heather, and their kids!) who found him in their back yard took him inside and contacted people via facebook to help.  They, like most of us, hadn’t the funds to help him, and didn’t want him just put down.

My husband and I (Justin and Karla), being cat lovers with four of our own, decided to drive the few miles between our towns and pick up “Ogilvie the Orange Cat” (as we originally called him), and we brought him to the 24/7 Affiliated Emergency Vet clinic in St. Cloud, MN.  They’re a wonderful place, and we highly recommend them!

There, they couldn’t do surgery, especially without funding, but they could provide antibiotics and pain medicine.  They also treated his ear mite infestation.  We brought him back home to care for him as best we could.

The next day, a Sunday, we brought him to another Vet clinic about 30 miles away because they had Sunday hours.  They meant well, but could not treat the cat without $1200 up front; about ten times more than we could come up with at the moment.

In a panic, driving home with the hurting kitty, I set up a Go Fund Me site, something I’d never done.  Before we got home, we’d raised over $100.  And in the next four days, we’d raised over $900 from the most awesome and generous people in the world!  We cannot thank these friends, family members, and complete strangers enough!  We’ve shed tears of joy so many more times than tears of sadness this week (as I write on Dec. 19, less than a week later).

Sunday night, a colleague contacted me.  She knew a local veterinarian who heard the story and was willing to work with us; Monday morning, my colleague’s husband (thanks, Steph and Al!) brought “Ogilvie” in and Litke Veterinarian, in Pierz, MN, were absolute angels.

Seriously, we cannot thank them enough for their loving care.  They, too, fell in love with the cat.

On Monday, Dec. 15, “Ogilvie” had his entire rear leg removed to the pelvis.  He had his entire tail removed. He has a broken pelvis, as well, that we hope will heal.

They found bone fragments via X-ray in his stomach; the poor cat had been outside for days, trying to keep his wounds clean, trying to stay alive.

Originally, we’d hoped to find a forever home for “Ogilvie” as we already had four cats, but, as might guess, we fell in love with him and decided to keep him. (The rest of the family…)

We renamed him Hershel (after Hershel Greene), the character in The Walking Dead who was gentle, loving, and made of iron even when he lost his own leg to save his life.

We are blessed, and going to do everything we can to get Hershel healthy, happy, and mobile.

As for the humans of the household, Justin’s an education paraprofessional at a residential treatment facility for boys, and is into all kinds of Geekdom, theatre, comedy, working with kids, and radio programming.  Karla’s a high school English teacher and likes reading, travel, knitting, writing, art, and her husband’s Geekdom.

 

You can contact Hershel’s Family at hershelbedershel AT gmail.com