Photo by Joyce Moyer "Valentine on her desk"
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Last week we are heard about a cat named Valentine that had been shot in the eye by a dart. She was taken to Gloucester County Animal Shelter where they rushed her to the Delaware Veterinary Hospital. This is where Valentine met a wonderful person named Dr. Morrissey. Dr. Morrissey took one look at this cat and realized she was worth saving. She noticed that with the amount of infection that was in the eye, that this poor cat walked around like this for about a week before being noticed. Dr. Morrissey said, “This was why I got into this profession (to help the animals) and I don’t ever want to forget that.” She performed the first surgery of removing the dart. The second surgery was days later that closed the left eye, as the dart permanently damaged it. Dr. Morrissey provided her labor charge and some of the provisions free of charge, although the bill still came to $692.00.
Judi Hibbs and Bill Lombardi with the Gloucester County Animal Shelter decided they would contact Joyce Moyer of Joa’s Arc Rescue to help with fostering Valentine while she was undergoing her surgeries until adoption. Joyce agreed to take her and assume responsibility for her until the adoption. Joa’s Arc Rescue works with local rescues and shelters for when a particular shelter has a “special needs” animal. Bill Lombardi said, “The shelter usually does not have the facilities or funds to handle “special needs”, so Joa’s Arc comes in to rescue them.” At Joa’s Arc they are placed in a home to receive their care until adoption, they are not put into a kennel or cage like at a shelter.
After Valentine’s surgeries she has been staying with Joyce at her home. Here she has been treated like a family member. She has her own blanket that had been donated to her. She has free roam during the day but is tucked into her spacious multi-tiered cage for her own protection during the night. Valentine is still having trouble with trying to get use to one eye. She is having trust issues but Joyce is working with her on it one day at a time. That dart may have shot her eye out but it did not kill her spirit. Joyce said, “Val (her nickname) is doing well. She seems to trust me now, lovingly head butting me and loves her Pounce treats. One thing that Valentine loves is catnip toys, I swear it makes her smile. Her sutures from her surgery will be removed at the end of the week. She doesn't seem to be bothered with my dog or any loud noises. She is just shy and learning to trust at this time. Her wounds are healing well; it is the emotional damage that I am working on with her.”
The New Jersey SPCA has a reward of $1000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the cowardly person who did this to Valentine. Frank Saracino, of the NJSPCA, "apologizes to the people for providing the wrong information" by telling people that Valentine was an owned cat and had been adopted. The NJSPCA have also been collecting donations for her medical bills and after plenty of phone calls to all the parties involved, the veterinary bill has been sent to them for payment. That is one less thing for Joyce at Joa’s Arc to have to worry about. Joyce said,” I am fostering Valentine and I pay for all her daily expenses which is my pleasure.” A private donor to Joa’s Arc has also put up an additional $1000 to the reward money, which now increases the reward to $2000 for an arrest leading to a conviction.
If anyone is interested in adopting Valentine, they should go to PetFinder. This has the information regarding the Gloucester County Animal Shelter. They can also call then at (856) 881-2828 and ask for an application for Valentine. They will be more than happy to fax one to anyone interested. Any donations for daily care (food, treats, toys or money) should go to Joa's Arc at P.O. Box 243, Audubon, NJ 08106. You can also email Joyce at JoyceM@joasarc.org . Joa’s Arc Rescue is widely used and respected by the local shelters and rescues as a great “special needs” facility for the animals to go. Any donations are very much appreciated and are fully used to help better the lives of the animals only. The workers with Joa’s Arc are all volunteers.
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