A Split-Second Accident, a Happy Recovery

One early morning in April, as Saria A. hurried to get ready for work, a split-second accident changed the course of her day.

As she closed her bedroom door, her beloved cat, Argyle, slipped through the doorway.

“His tail got slammed in the door,” Saria recalls. “I felt terrible, but the hallway was darkened, and I didn’t see him.”

Distraught, she rushed Argyle to an emergency veterinary hospital, only to discover the cost of treatment was beyond her reach. Then she remembered the ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic in the Bronx, where she had once accompanied a friend. Staff referred her to the ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic by The Rachael Ray Foundation™ in Queens, where they could get Saria an appointment immediately.

Veterinarians examined Argyle, bandaged his injured tail and sent him home with pain medication and antibiotics. Days later, when it was clear he would require a partial amputation, Dr. Wesleigh Porter, with guidance from Dr. Eloise Cucui, removed the damaged tip of his tail.

“They just took a bit off the end,” says Saria, who waited for Argyle and brought him home later that same day. “I thought he might lose his entire tail.”

An Instant Bond

Nearly two years ago, Saria adopted Argyle, now three years old, from the ASPCA Adoption Center in Manhattan.

“I wanted a companion, and we clicked right away,” she says. “He was shy, but he sat on my lap when I offered him treats. He also let me hold him. I said, ‘You’re coming home with me.’”

Since then, the pair have become inseparable.

“He reflects my personality and watches me all the time,” Saria says. “But sometimes he wants his own space, so he is a lot like me that way. He sits and listens and does not judge.”

Their favorite pastime is spending time together and sunbathing on Saria’s backyard patio.

About a week after surgery, Saria and Argyle returned to the clinic for a follow-up appointment, where veterinarians deemed his tail was healing well.

Looking back, Saria says the support she received from the ASPCA made all the difference.

“Your team was so good through the whole process and so understanding,” she says. “I was relieved and jumping for joy, because I don’t know where we'd be without you. “He’s really my guy.”