Stories

It takes a team sometimes to help the people and the pets in their time of need.  Thank you to the Cleveland Animal Protective League for their help with Samantha. Her pet parent Art is going to be VERY happy to be reunited with her.

We got the call from a social worker who had a patient that was concerned about his cat. We were told the door was unlocked and when we arrived to check on the cat there were fresh padlocks installed on the outside of the doors.  We worked with the social worker to get information about the landlord and when the landlord was contacted by us we were told that there wasn’t a cat in the house because she had run out the door.  Fortunately, Art knew his kitty well and let us know that she would never run out the door.  We were convinced that Samantha was still in the house but how were we going to get to her?!?! We were also concerned that if she still was in the house she had been without food and water for almost 5 days.  One phone call to the Cleveland Animal Protective League and humane investigation officers Val and Becca were on the case. They contacted the landlord and made arrangements to go over to the property and set a trap.

When they went back the next day they were happy to see that Samantha was indeed still in the house and in the trap.  Art was very concerned that Samantha might not even be alive due to not having someone caring for her to make sure that she had fresh water and food. We were over the moon excited to get the phone call from the nice humane investigation officers from the APL that Samantha was alive and on her way to the APL to be examined by their vet staff and given her vaccinations.  Once that was all done we were able to pick her up.

Samantha is now in foster care with the People with Pets Outreach Project.  Art can now focus on his health and not worry about Samantha. Once Art gets out of the skilled nursing facility that he was transferred to, him and Samantha will be reunited.

“His biggest fear is that I have left him alone”. Those were the words we heard when we received a call from a frantic patient. Poor little OC watched as EMS arrived to take his pet parent to the ER. He was confused and scared and his pet parent saw it in his eyes. She didn’t want to leave him but, she needed to seek medical attention and had put it off so long that she had to call 911. The kind EMT’s put down a couple of cans of food for him because his pet parent thought that she was going to be back within a day or so. As it turned out she was admitted to the hospital and found out through her social worker that People of Pets Outreach Project was there to care for OC while she concentrated on getting healthy again.

When OC’s pet parent reached out to us she let us know that he doesn’t like to eat alone and was concerned that he had been by himself for a couple of days and hasn’t eaten. When we arrived we were greeted by a very grateful kitty!!! OC was a big boy and we were happy to see that he had decided to eat even though he had been by himself. We could also tell that his pet parent was so sick that she had been unable to scoop his litter boxes on a regular basis. Fresh litter boxes and a little bit of cleanup had OC back to using his litter boxes!!! OC had beautiful long, soft black fur and he loved to be brushed by his pet parent. He had developed a few mats because his pet parent had been too ill to give him the weekly brushing that he loved and needed. He was such a GOOD kitty about letting us shave out the mats. When we addressed his mats he felt so much better.

As it turned out his pet parent had to stay hospitalized longer than expected and then had to enter into a skilled nursing facility for further care. We kept on visiting with OC and made sure that he had his favorite canned food and all of the love and attention that he needed.

When his pet parent arrived home she was so grateful and thankful to see him looking so good and happy. OC was happy to see her and let her know that he felt loved and cared for until they could be reunited.

Shortly after Thanksgiving a social worker from Metro Health reached out to us. Her patient went into the ER for care and found out that he would be needing surgery. Poor JoJo had been left at home not knowing that his pet parent wasn’t going to make it home anytime soon. When his pet parent Milton found out that he was needing surgery to get him on the road to feeling better his only concern was that JoJo was alone at home. Milton loved JoJo so much that he wanted to check out against medical advice and sacrifice his own health to make sure that his constant companion was cared for. Milton feared that if he stayed to get the medical treatment that he needed that he would never see his precious JoJo again. When Milton found out that JoJo would be cared for he agreed to his surgery and concentrated on getting healthy so that he could make it home to JoJo.

Once we heard that JoJo was going to be needing some care the People with Pets Outreach Project swung into action and started caring for JoJo. He had some nice walks three times a day. He enjoyed being out and getting some exercise and taking care of all his potty business. He was always excited to see his caregivers. He knew he was going to be fed and showered with love until Milton could make it home.

JoJo asked Santa Paws to please have his pet parent make it home beforeChristmas and Santa Paws delivered. Milton arrived home before Christmas and was on the road to being healthy again. The reunion between Milton and JoJo was priceless!!!! JoJo was so excited and waiting for Milton to arrive. As soon as they saw each other it was all wags and wiggles and smiles.

The People with Pets Outreach Project afforded Milton the opportunity to focus and his health and know that his pup was being cared for and would be waiting for him when he arrived home. We love these happy endings!!!!!

 

 

Metro Health also wrote and article for their internal newsletter highlighting Milton and JoJo and the care that they both were able to receive because of a combined effort between The People With Pets Outreach Project and their social workers. You can read the article here: https://news.metrohealth.org/doggie-day-care-brings-peace-of-mind-to-patients/

It was the morning of the day before Thanksgiving 2018. We got a call from a social worker who had a patient that had to leave behind his dog when he entered into the hospital. The pet parent didn’t think he was going to be in the hospital long but found out that he was needing to have surgery. There was a twist to the story. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tim and his dog Stitch were living in a van in a parking lot on the west side of Cleveland. Tim was in the hospital and Stitch was still in the van. He had a family member coming a couple of times a day to get Stitch out to potty and fed but it was getting cold. The family member couldn’t bring Stitch home with them. That’s when the social worker reached out to see if we could get Stitch out of the van and into a comfy, warm home until his pet parent got out of the hospital.

We immediately made arrangements with the family member to meet them at the van to get Stitch into the care of People with Pets Outreach Project. When we arrived his cute little face was peeping out at us and he was ready to go!!!!!! Since Stitch didn’t have a proper home that we could care for him at we quickly secured a foster home for him. Stitch was a happy go lucky pup that enjoyed the comforts of a warm home, other dogs to play with and toys. The People with Pets Outreach Project got him updated with his vaccines and neutered. Over the next couple of months Tim had some medical setbacks and ended up needing to enter a skilled nursing facility. We’d take Stitch to visit with him and we could tell he was working hard to be able to be discharged. Tim was able to secure pet friendly housing through his social worker at the skilled nursing facility. The day had arrived when we were able to reunite Stitch with Tim. Unfortunately, Tim had another medical setback and needed to enter into the hospital again. He was comforted that Stitch was still under our care but was questioning if him and Stitch could actually be reunited again. After much thought about what was best for Stitch his pet parent decided that Stitch needed to be re-homed.

We reached out to the Berea Animal Rescue for help to place Stitch into his FURever home. Stitch is an amazing and adorable pup so he found his forever home rather quickly which was not a surprise to us!!!!

Sparky was a very special pup to his pet parent. He loved that dog.  He loved Sparky so much that he was fearful to seek medical treatment for cancer. Sparky’s pet parent was so sick that he landed in the emergency department because his body forced him to seek medical treatment.  Thankfully, the social worker on his case listened to his concerns about having to be admitted because Sparky was left at home all by himself with no one to get him out to potty, feed him and make sure he had fresh water. His pet parent was assured by the social worker that he didn’t need to check out against medical advice. Sparky would be cared for so that he could receive the care that was needed to help him get back home to Sparky.

Poor Sparky was scared when we arrived for his first visit with him.  His pet parent was gone and they really didn’t get many visitors so Sparky wasn’t too sure about strangers. We quickly learned that Sparky loved hot dogs and with a few packages of hot dogs we were able to win him over so that we could care for him while his pet parent was receiving the care that he needed. Given his fear issues it was best that Sparky was cared for in his home. His pet parent was comforted that we would visit with Sparky three times a day to get him out for walks, have some snuggle time and stay in the familiar surroundings of his home.

 

Sparky’s pet parent was in and out of the hospital for almost a year battling his cancer. We’d get the call from his social worker when he would reenter the hospital and we’d spring into action to care for Sparky until his pet parent would return. One day that didn’t happen. We received the call one morning that Sparky’s pet parent was back in the hospital.  It was like any normal time that we needed to spring into action to get visits arranged for Sparky. Then we get the call from the doctor later that afternoon that Sparky’s pet parent was dying and he wasn’t going to be able to come home to Sparky. The doctor relayed to us that Sparky’s pet parents’ biggest fear was not that he was dying but that Sparky wasn’t going to be cared for. He feared for Sparky’s future and hadn’t made plans for his care in the event of his death. The doctor let Sparky’s pet parent know that we were going to take good care of him and find him a home with someone that would love him as much as he did.   His pet parent passed away peacefully knowing that Sparky was loved and would be cared for.

With the help of the Berea Animal Rescue Sparky now has a new pet parent. Sparky is living the good life and spends his winters in Cleveland and spends his summers in Maine.