September 24, 2009
ASPCA Happy Tails: Stray Cat Strut
Working at the ASPCA, it’s a given that your job rarely ends when you leave the office for the day. This truism recently hit home for Bronx resident and ASPCA Department Coordinator Veronica Rodriguez. Earlier this summer, Veronica was walking toward the building where she lives when she noticed some kids throwing rocks. As she got closer, she saw a small injured cat huddling in a corner.
“I immediately told the kids to stop, and not surprisingly, they started saying terrible things back to me,” Veronica explains. “To make them stop, I sat on the sidewalk in front of the cat. He was still very scared and wouldn’t let me touch him or even go near him. I sat there for a half an hour, and then suddenly, he climbed into my lap. That was the green light for me to bring him to the ASPCA!”
Named Josh by the medical staff, the two-year-old stray passed his medical exam and behavior assessment with flying colors. “He stole the hearts of everyone on the third floor, where we set up his crate when he first arrived,” says Gail Buchwald, ASPCA Senior Vice President. “Even right after he got here, he was rolling on his back and ‘making biscuits’ in the air whenever anyone stopped to talk to him.”
The staff could hardly contain their enthusiasm for sweet, loving Josh. In fact, Veronica was telling her story to other team members, when a potential adopter overheard her and asked to meet this special kitty who’d captured the hearts and minds of so many.
“We went into the socialization room and sat down on the floor, and Josh immediately head butted the adopter’s daughter—it was love at first sight!” enthuses Veronica. “The adopter said, ‘He’s coming home with us—that’s it, he’s mine!’”
The rest is history: Josh’s new family renamed him Poppy Seed, and thanks to the quick thinking and compassion of an ASPCA team member, a lucky cat now has a loving home.
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