Inspirational Pets

Have you seen the story about a d*g born without useable front legs that has learned to walk upright? Faith has been on Oprah and Montel, she’s making the rounds of media, and has an agent. Her owner, Jude Stringfellow, gave up teaching in Oklahoma to take Faith on the road and has positioned her pet as a “27-pound self help book” with the inspirational message:

If a dog can do it, so can a person.

And so can a cat. Here’s a picture of Zak, a reader’s cat who lost one limb and learned to deal with it.

Another uplifting story features Phantom, a blue Persian show cat. He suffered a seizure shortly after his eleventh birthday and then began acting odd--hanging his head like it hurt, meowing with deep yowls. His owner, Judy Miley, told his vet she’d do anything to find out what was wrong--and so they went to a neurologist at the University of Illinois where he was diagnosed.

Phantom, before his seizure

The MRI showed a tumor in Phantom’s brain. The family was devastated, but pursued treatment. Surgery wasn’t able to remove the tumor, but enough fluid was drawn off to relieve Phantom’s pain--and to learn that it was NOT malignant!

Phantom, After Surgery

Phantom stayed at the hospital for radiation treatments (16 sessions, one every day) and came home weekends. The kitty didn’t want to eat while he was away from home and dropped from 10 pounds to 6-1/2 pounds during this time. Once he came home, though, he regained his weight--and his previous loving personality. His story, told in the book Complete Care for Your Aging Cat, continues to inspire other cat lovers.

Do you have a cat that inspires you?