Last week, an amazing rescue story went so viral that despite spending far too much time on the Internet searching for awesome tales about cats, I somehow never heard about it. But fear not: Millions of page hits and half a dozen follow-up stories later, your favorite feline newshound is on the job!
About three months ago, a golden Lab named Reagan found a bag of cat food on an Iowa roadside. He must have sensed that something other than a tasty forbidden morsel lurked inside the sealed Meow Mix bag, though, because he dragged it home and whined until his owner opened it.
Inside was a litter of kittens so young that they still had their blue “milk eyes.”
Unfortunately, the bag had been run over by at least one vehicle. Only two of the four or five kittens had survived their cruel abandonment, and even they were barely alive.
The dog’s owner contacted the Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary (RVAS) in Urbandale, Iowa, where they nursed the sweet babies back to health, tending to their injuries and bottle-feeding them every two hours.
Now the feline superstars, who have been given the names Tipper and Skipper, are ready to find a forever home.
As is usually the case with amazing stories like these, requests to adopt Tipper and Skipper have poured in. People from literally all over the globe have called asking about the pair, and so far more than 50 people have applied to adopt them.
So far, the sanctuary has yet to find the perfect home for them. We do not adopt on emotionally based decisions. We want to make sure people understand it’s a lifetime commitment and that these two will be around and need proper care for 20 years,” says Linda Blakely, who is fostering the kittens until their permanent caretakers are selected.
Tipper and Skipper’s miraculous story is certainly worthy of all the attention it’s getting. And besides, who couldn’t love all the cute pictures RVAS has shared on its Facebook page?
I’ve reported on several cats that have survived amazing odds, and it never fails that when these stories make the news, the rescues responsible for those cats are flooded with calls and adoption requests. But for every famous feline, there are thousands, of cats abandoned in shelters or rescued by good Samaritans (whether human or canine) that are waiting to be adopted.
There can be only one adopter for Tipper and Skipper. However, I hope the attention they bring to animals in need helps lots of other cats get the best holiday gift of all — a wonderful, loving forever home.
Here’s a news video about Tipper and Skipper from WHO-TV:
(In a reader? Watch the video here.)
