A Heartwarming Tail for the Holidays

Dear Friends,

Are you ready for an amazing animal story that will fill your hearts right up?

Meet Meghan Lucas, a vet tech who lives in Wooden Valley. Like many of us, she was evacuated from her home during the October wildfires. When she and her boyfriend returned a few days later to their badly charred neighborhood, they were lucky to find their house intact…and a litter of fluffy kittens in the driveway.

How they got there, and where they came from was a total mystery, but these brave little babies had stuck together and made it through the inferno!

When Meghan and her boyfriend got out of the car to approach them, the littlest orange kitty walked right up to say hello. They saw immediately that this little guy had sustained some kind of trauma to one of his eyes…but it didn’t seem to affect his manners. He was friendly and eager to meet them, even though it was clear these kittens had been born in the wild. Meghan and her boyfriend responsibly took him and his siblings down to their veterinary hospital so they could all be vaccinated, dewormed, spayed/neutered, and ready for a forever home.

Most of the kittens were immediately taken in by loving new owners once their treatments were complete…but not the sweet little orange fluffball. The vet told Meghan he would need to have his damaged eye totally removed before he could be adopted – and that the surgery cost $1200.

Meghan was determined to do right by this brave little kitten who’d suffered so much. He was a true survivor, and she felt he deserved this chance at happy new life. She set up a GoFundMe page for him and raised almost $200. Fortunately, she also reached out to Napa Humane for help. Thanks to donations specifically earmarked for animals injured by the wildfires, we were able to cover the balance, and get this valiant little kitten the veterinary care he needed and deserved!

The surgery went without a hitch, and “Porkchop” is now happily settled into his forever home. His one eye is so beautiful, nobody even misses the other one.

“He is such a brave, friendly little kitten with a one-in-a-million personality,” says Meghan. “Words can’t explain how thankful and overjoyed I am.”

Same here, Meghan. Wishing you all a holiday season full of love, hope, and unexpected kindness!

-Wendi Piscia, Executive Director