What a few months it’s been for Long John Silver. The fluffy gray tabby came to Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) in late summer as one of more than 50 cats rescued from a hoarding situation in Alameda. Because of some unaddressed medical conditions, he needed a leg amputated and several teeth extracted.
We were lucky enough to place Long John (aka LJ) with one of our incredible foster homes. Babs and Jon welcomed LJ into their lives and fell in love with this 7-year-old who had been through so much. He recovered quickly in their care.
The weeks ticked by. LJ thrived. He was an exemplary cat, but there was little interest from adopters. This surprised us because tripods are usually pretty popular. Babs and John were tempted to adopt him themselves, but they already have a few pets, and wouldn’t be able take on more fosters if they kept LJ.
During this time, FAAS was fortunate enough to develop a relationship with Newsweek. We got connected with a reporter, told her about Long John, and she wrote a sweet story for the world to see. (Needless to say, we were thrilled!)
We couldn’t wait to see if anything would come of it.
In Tucson, Teresa was scrolling through animal stories one evening when she saw the Newsweek headline about LJ.
Her beloved cat Jimmy, also a tripod, had died nearly three years earlier, at age 17. She had adopted him when he was two months old, and his death hit her hard. She wasn’t sure when or if she’d be ready to bring a new cat into her life.
She clicked the Newsweek link, and read about Long John.
As she read and looked at his photos, her heart sped up in that joyful way it does when you’ve met someone you think you could fall in love with.
“It felt like I was meant to read that article,” she said. “I realized I was ready for the right cat, and always knew I would adopt another special-needs cat. And there he was."
The following week was a blur of the flurried happiness of connecting with our adoption team, filling out paperwork, and organizing a road trip to Alameda with her fiancé, Josh.
They left Tucson in their 2012 Subaru sedan at 8 am (Arizona time) Saturday morning, arrived in Alameda at 9:30 pm, and spent the night at an Oakland International Airport hotel.
They didn’t sleep that well. Maybe it was all the caffeine. Maybe it was the excitement of meeting Long John. They checked out of their hotel, and headed to Mosley’s Café just a block or so away from FAAS to pass the last hour sipping hot chocolate before meeting LJ.
Teresa had filled out most of the paperwork when Babs and Jon arrived bearing a cardboard carrier. Everyone hugged warmly and went off to our cat kennels, since our adoption room already had a dog in it.
Babs opened the box and up popped Long John’s head. He surveyed the setting and after a few beats, was out of the carrier and looking around at his old quarters. Eventually he walked over to meet Teresa, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with an outstretched hand.
At first it was a careful touch, nose to hand. Then a quick brush of his head to her finger. Next he went all in for a big head rub. Everyone watching beamed as he continued mushing his head onto the hand of this woman who plans to love him till the end of his days.
In another hour, it was hugs all around, contact information exchanged, misty eyes and last goodbyes.
“You’ve got a great life ahead, LJ,” Babs said as she petted him one last time. Teresa tucked in close to the large kennel in the back seat of their car, so she could keep him company, and
they set off for the long drive back to LJ’s forever home.
A message from John L. Lipp, FAAS CEO:
Stories like this and Buster Brown’s last week make our hearts soar. It takes a village sometimes to get the animals in our care to their happily-ever-afters.
The FAAS family of incredibly compassionate, devoted fosters is growing. Fosters makes such a difference. Fostering not only give our animals a much-needed break from shelter life, but provides us with insights about what they’ll be like as pets in someone’s home.
Often what we see in a shelter is not what we see once an animal acclimates to a loving home – as much care as we give our animals.
We learn so much from our fosters, and this has helped us see our dogs and cats for who they have the potential to be once they’re out of a shelter environment. This, in turn, helps get them adopted.
If you’d like to consider fostering, but you’re concerned about getting too attached, or the animal getting too attached to you, it helps to remember this: You’re not the destination, but a vital step along the way to a forever adoption. And you’re kind of doing the work of angels!
Here's Babs's beautiful take on getting attached while fostering: "It's OK to get attached knowing the animal will hopefully end up with a Teresa and Josh. That attachment makes you only want what is best for them."
Awww! Take it from Babs. She and Jon have been foster heroes for us for years.
Would you like to learn more about fostering? Please fill out a questionnaire , and someone will get back to you.
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