Nicole Palling has written a beautifully crafted eulogy to Lucky’s stay at ELM Cat Rescue (and I presume earlier of the Mountain Animal Clinic) until she was adopted. Nicole volunteers at the Mountain Animal Clinic and founded Every Life Matters – ELM Cat Rescue. Nicole is the central character in Lucky’s story which went viral in early October 2018.
This sweet female tabby cat was abandoned in the parking area of the Mountain Animal Clinic in a carrier. In a strange macabre twist her face was covered in duct tape (I wrote a brief post on this).
Nicole Paling happened to be driving into the parking area shortly after and she saw the black carrier. She was shocked at its contents. She was there to take Bacci in for oxygen therapy and suddenly had the responsibility of attending to one more cat in desperate need.
Nicole’s boyfriend carefully and precisely removed the duct tape using his hands and a pocket knife – nicely done. Lucky was calm throughout and never complained.
She was taken in and treated. She had a bladder infection and was anaemic. Her backside was painful. She’s been on a good diet and has been vaccinated and microchipped. She gained a pound in weight during her stay at the clinic and at the rescue center, ELM Cat Rescue, from where she was recently adopted.
It would be foolhardy of me to rewrite Nicole’s eulogy so here it is from her rescue center’s Facebook page. Please note what I have said below Nicole’s FB eulogy on the matter of finding the person who did this.
Criminal Investigation?
However, there is one element of this story which needs to be stressed. It’s a point made by Nicole. I’ll quote her direct. She says that she has all the evidence needed to assist in the search for the abuser who did this to Lucky but nothing has happened:
“It was apparent by the numerous nail sheaths and the abundance of fur lining the inside of the carrier, that this prison of hers was used multiple times to torture her by keeping her confined for hours on end. Drywall dust and plaster remnants are seen on both the inside and outside of the carrier, the duct tape had been wrapped around Lucky’s head as if the individual was left handed… one might imagine the person who committed this cruelty would be in the construction trade. The duct tape remains in our possession; in a ziplock bag to preserve anything else about Lucky’s abuser. Fingerprints, human hair, DNA… it’s waiting. Had this happened to a child, a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a husband, a wife, your best friend… this would have been treated so differently.”
It is always necessary, I think, to pursue justice in the name of abused cats as it helps prevent further abuse.
Why write a eulogy?
Because the cat deserves praise. ” or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, ” It does not always apply to a person or animal who has died.