Paulie Finds Health and Home

A Help Me Heal spotlight is on a wonderful cat named Paulie...

An adult black and white DSH was picked up by a Humane Officer in De Forest in mid-April of 2007. She called the shelter to report that he was in pretty rough shape-cold, shocky and with an obvious fracture of his left front leg.  He was neutered and front declawed, so I advised her to take him to the Emergency Clinic for Animals, knowing AMS could not provide the initial care he needed, and that he probably (hopefully) had an owner. At ECA, an AVID microchip was found, but the owner could not be contacted- the information was not updated.

ECA stabilized the cat and radiographs revealed a fracture of both radius and ulna just above his wrist. They placed a splint, and once he was stable enough, he was transferred to DCHS. He stayed in AMS,  continued on pain meds and antibiotics, and had splint changes. DCHS continued to try to locate the owner to no avail- the owner information on file with AVID was not current.

“Paulie” was a very cooperative patient, even with his splint changes. Our AMS technician assistant, Beth Rodgers, dubbed him Paulie after caring for him while he was in AMS. When it was clear an owner would not be reclaiming him, I contacted surgery residents at the UWVMTH about repairing his fracture, as it would not heal with just a splint. Thankfully, Dr. Trent Tuttle and Dr. Maria Faria generously donated their time and expertise and came out to the shelter to repair Paulie’s leg with a plate on May 8th; Paulie then came to my house to recooperate for the next several weeks.

As the weeks passed, Paulie began using the leg very well and became acquainted with our cat, Quisp. Although initially wary of Paulie, Quisp finally accepted his presence. Just as they were learning to pass each other in the hallway without a staredown, hissing or swatting, our new 10-month-old rottweiler joined the household! But it only took a few days before the cats figured out how to get around the dog to sleep on the bed at night-they waited until she fell asleep.  Paulie was supposed to be a “foster cat” for us, but we decided to adopt him since he fits well in our household, and he is the type of “lap cat“ my husband adores. He also helped us through the grief of losing our first cat, Teaghan, in early April, and our dog, Loki, in early May.

Paulie’s recheck radiographs show the leg is nearly healed. His hair is finally growing back, and he no longer limps.

I am very grateful for the assistance that ECA and the UWVMTH provides for DCHS animals in extra need. Without them, we wouldn’t have Paulie!

Dr. Lisa Kerwin-Lucchi
DCHS Shelter Veterinarian